


Mothers and Daughters

by cymrymira



Series: The Adventures of Kit and Leona and a Few Other Friends! [4]
Category: Original characters - Fandom, World of Warcraft
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2018-12-10
Packaged: 2019-09-15 02:32:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 28
Words: 61,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16924884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cymrymira/pseuds/cymrymira
Summary: The time spent finding family is well spent.From the Coming Home to the Masters of Light to the Incoming Invasion arc (ie, End of Mists until very very beginning of Legion. Not much happened in Warlords).





	1. Homecoming

**Homecoming**

 

She walked the halls, smiling as she paused at the nursery door.

Kit had come to greet her, but Taladren had been far too young to recognize her voice, far too young to travel to where the tree was growing.

She chewed her bottom lip, very nearly running away.

Instead, she stepped into the room, smiling at the toys and books, the stars on the ceiling and the soft scent from the candles that Cero had made, now unburning, but she knew that once the toddler opened his eyes they would burst into life, lighting his world.

She sat down on the edge of his bed, gazing softly at the small boy with the strawberry blond hair, sleeping soundly with a worn dragon plush in his arms. 

A phoenix hatchling was sleeping on one of the posts, opened his eye to look at her and then stretched his wings before nodding at her and closing them once more.

She smiled, ignoring the bird for now as she tucked the covers around the boy and laid down next to him, staring at him before she fell into a deep sleep herself.

The next morning she would be wakened by small arms around her and happy tears in her chest.

“Mama…" 

She realized with a soft chuckle, that she might need a bigger bed.

Taladren was fine, but then sometime during the night, both Kit and Leona had crawled to snuggle next to her. She woke up sandwiched between the three before the sun rose.

There was a soft smile on her lips as she reluctantly rose to greet the day.  
  


* * *

 

 

It was raining.

The Sin'dorei woman was the only one walking in the market without a parasol. There were few travelers, most had retreated into the inn or the many pavilions that they had for such an occasion. 

Not many were there to greet her. Only a very few noticed that she had came at all.

The ones who did waited, watching for the woman with the pale gold hair and sad eyes, her body marked by many thin scars all over her face and hands, with even more scars hidden beneath her clothing.

She had came a long way to this place, longer than any had dared realized.

“Lady Dawnsinger…” one started, a pandaren swordswoman dressed in the jade armor that denoted her a guardian of Yu'lon, “We… even when the Celestials told us…”

She smiled gently, “It is a strange chance that I am given, one that I must pay back the best I can. And to do that, I need to regrow the lands that have been razed by darkness.”

“The farm…” a smaller male said as he stepped next to the warrior, “We could not take the refugees from their new home.”

“Nor should you,” she said, clasping her hands in front of her, “I only require a little bit of earth and a small home in which to live.”

“The Tillers will provide that,” a third Pandaren said, this one dressed in plain clothing, though her hair was held up with a jeweled pin, “We did save a place on the back of your farm. One just suited for the needs the Celestials had described to us.”

The Sin'dorei smiled once more, “Thank you,” she said quietly, then turned to the warrior, “Litsu… the name that I held in that life is no more, Raine Dawnsinger is still dead,” she glanced sorrowfully down, “The price that was paid… it means that she will never truly come back, not alone…” she glanced back at her, raising a hand to wipe the tears from the Pandaren’s eyes, “My name is Araidne Starblood.”

Litsu slowly nodded, “Will…” she paused, then sighed, “Are you alone…?”

“No,” Araidne smiled, “There is another girl following me and my daughters will come and visit. My son shall be living with me now,” she glanced at the falling rain, “There will be others… the farm will be as busy as it once was.”

“It would not be your farm if it wasn’t,” Litsu said quietly, “I thought you just had one…”

Araidne just nodded as she walked past her, “Feather is delivering my message to them, he’ll meet me at the farm more than likely, as will Zeixing.”


	2. Visits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kit and Leona go to the farm.

**Visits**

“Serene!” Leona said happily as she knocked on the elder girl’s door, “Serene, wake up!”

The white haired girl only halfway put her glasses on as she answered, “Leona… the sun hasn’t even come up…”

“Araidne invited us to sing in the dawn and go to the farm and all sorts of stuff! Want to…”

“No,” Serene yawned, “I’ll sing the sunset in…” the door closed halfway as she stumbled back to her bed.

Leona blinked then shrugged and ran to catch up with Kit, both happily joining their off-key voices to Araidne as she greeted the sunrise, then went to do their new training regiment as she made breakfast.

“I don’t want her to go,” Leona said to Kit as they ate.

Her sister sighed, “She’s gonna have to soon I think, she’s heading back to Pandaria in a couple of days for her research,” she grinned, “But she’s here now, so we better enjoy it!” she poked Leona’s cheek, “Just wait until you have one of her brownies!”

 

* * *

 

Leona was helping Kit with packing, and Serene smiled as she watched the two of them before walking away.

“To live with your mother…” she mused, “I am glad that Araidne agreed to take Leona as well.”

She chuckled, Aura even had an invitation, but he was so nervous about family that he had nearly ran back to his cave in Northrend when he was given it. 

Serene was glad that they were going though. With Luna in Northrend, it gave her and Aura time to search the General’s house. 

And they needed to. Her notes had shown that many things happened during those lifetimes, but the one that worried her was the losing of something very precious to both her and Aura.

How many lifetimes… 

She sighed. Aura was worried over a family, and they had made one in those lifetimes, a hand ghosted over her stomach and she frowned, “Would he be frightened of me when I become a ‘mother’ as well…?”

Or should that be “Become a Mother again…?”

Time was… tricky at best. That was a pocket, realities that they didn’t really live. It all ended up being nothing more than a dream to them.

Yet… was there something substantial left in those dreams?

She had to find out before anyone else did.

 

* * *

 

 

“I brought you some vegetables,” Leona said as she gave Serene the bag of carrots, “I was told that they help with eyesight.”

Serene smiled at the red-head, “You ate a bunch yourself didn’t you?”

“I think you already have to see for them to work,” Leona sighed, “And I didn’t find Jude at all… oh and Kit might have challenged a paladin for me…” she tilted her head, “What’s wrong?”

The white-haired girl adjusted her glasses and looked at her, “…what do you mean?” she asked finally.

“You’ve got a worried tone in your voice,” Leona pointed out, “What happened when I was away?” she puffed out her cheeks, “Do you need me to stay? I can help!”

“No… Aura and I are…” Serene paused, “It’s a puzzle we’ll solve together,” Leona seemed satisfied with that answer, “Do you want me to ask Daddy where Jude might be…?”

“No, I’ll find her,” the red-head frowned, “I hope she’s alright. Lady Starblood was worried she had upset her, but she didn’t say what about.”

Serene smiled sadly at the girl, having a guess as to what, and glanced to the carrots, “So you grew these yourself?”

“Kit helped!” Leona said proudly, “She showed me how and,” she smiled, “It was calming really. I liked playing in the dirt.”

“That’s good then,” Serene took a carrot and bit into it, “I suppose that Aura and I shall have to come to the farm sometime, just to see what all is happening there.”


	3. A New Bond

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meanwhile Cero solves the issue of Mira starving to death by forging her a new bond. From her perspective.

**A New Bond**   
  


My laboratory was my sanctum.

Every jar was labeled, every piece of equipment carefully cared for and sterilized. 

Flare was not even allowed here, and of my students, only Serene was. 

My immediate research consisted of a tendril of sha carefully sealed in it’s specimen jar, dancing jade flames carefully sealed in a second, and a few well kept vials of blood.

Normally, I’d be excited to work on such things, asking so many little annoying questions and adding to the only disorganized thing about my laboratory with every passing second. My notes from this experiment alone should have far surpassed the tiny pile on the edge of my desk.

My head was lying on the center, my eyes vaguely staring on the bit of fel crystal that Master had given me a long while back. Pain wracked through my body, but I found myself not caring.

Nor did I seem to care about the yowling outside my door that Flare was doing.

…my time was coming it seemed.  
 

* * *

 

I am not sure how I got there, only that Master and Vel were with me when I awoke.

No, I should correct myself, I am not in any way bound to him now… he saved me by binding me to another. General Sunsoul is my teacher still, and Teacher is the highest honor I can grant to anyone.

I need to check on my own students, but…

I had to meet him first, the one that I am bound to, my new Master.

Fears and hopes are warring themselves with me, but I am surprisingly calm as I make my way to Winterspring, and find the tree that he is sleeping in.

Such a peaceful expression on his face, I found myself staring as I kneel on the branch next to him, a hand going to touch his cheek.

“What sort of Master will you be?” I whispered, watching him breathe deeply.

He was handsome, tallish with hard muscles trained by years of fighting. Teacher said that he was once a swordsman, but now he only used his fists…

Why?

Will he be led down the same path as Kerri…? To die and leave me alone once more?

He gave up something… I doubted that he wanted power.

Besides, the feeling I got from him through the binding was one of… curiosity. Though there was an immense sadness, a regret of sorts.

He threw away his swords… He would not be so easily corrupted by the hate and jealousy that led Kerri to her death.

I was never enough for her, yet would I even be wanted by this man?  
  
All I could do was wait until his eyes opened. My hand was still on his cheek, for some reason not moving it as I watched him, my own eyes fixed on his face, trying to somehow see into his dreams.

I had to trust in my Teacher’s judgement.

Hours were passing, the night was nearly at an end, and I felt no need to sleep, not until I at least spoke to this man, ask him what sort of Master he would be.

I was bound to him… I wanted to know why Teacher chose him.

Sometime before dawn I did fall asleep, curled next to him as I waited.  


* * *

I need to always trust in Teacher.

True, this man, Varotin, was strange… but then so was I.

I found myself laughing. He was so earnest it taught me that lesson that Teacher had struggled with for so long.

It was a different binding than with Kerri, with her I had wanted to take everything onto myself, do whatever she ordered me to do as I became her sword and shield for the outside world.

With Varotin… I wanted to share everything with him… 

Flare warns that he is an idiot. 

I am not sure. He is hiding, at least that is what our binding tells me. I look forward to traveling with him.

Already I am fond of him. 

I should pick out a book for our date… he asked me to read to him.

* * *

 

_**Varo** ,_

_I am sorry for leaving while you were asleep, but I didn’t want to impose overmuch. I am missing your company now that we are parted, and regret not asking you to come with me._

_However, I wanted to attempt speaking to others in Silvermoon, and receive what news that I can. I… I am still frightened that I will lose control, yet I am confident in the courage that you allowed me to borrow._

_And on a one-to-one basis, it so far is working well. I am nervous over one thing, and I hope to be able to catch Teacher before it happens. I feel I have to though, as Judessa pointed out, there is no reason for one supposed to attend to not go._

_I can no longer hide behind my students and Luna. The next Magister’s Meeting, I will attend myself._

_Already I am frightened that I may lose control. I hope to borrow some more courage from you before the event._

_With Love,_

_**Mira**._


	4. Flower Knight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luna has difficulty adjusting to life without the Faeries

**Flower Knight**

 

_General,_

_I apologize._

_While the Faeries were around, it was easy. There was something other than myself to care for. And they did not judge me for having the darkness that I was born with._

_I was able to laugh and talk with them… and they did not think me silly or a bit touched as others do._

_Now they are gone, only Ereisa remains, and she is no longer a Faerie, and she will leave me when she finds her worthy master._

_I thought that she might be in Undercity, the others of her kind are there after all, but she claims that is wrong. She feels no loyalty for the one there._

_Meanwhile, I am wandering lost. I have traveled to Northrend, looking for clues as to who Ereisa may mean._

_While there, I performed my interview with Vel and ran into Mr. Leos again._

_He said something that I am taking to heart._

_…I… am not sure who I am, not really, but I will try._

_I am afraid though. The shadows come naturally to me, because of my own nature. But it is warm, not cold as others claim._

_I want to use it to help others. Perhaps there are more like the Faeries that cannot move on._

_I at least have to try. I think that is keeping with being true to myself._

_-Luna.  
_

* * *

“Luna?” Kit called, trying to find the girl, and rubbing my shoulders as I looked around.

_The hell was she doing here? No way she had found a flower up here in all this snow… I didn’t know flowers could grow on the Storm Peaks!_

She was glad that Raine had loaned her Feather. At least there was some warmth to be had.

“LUNA!”  she called again, trying to figure out why she didn’t answer.

“Here,” came a harsh voice, one not Luna’s.

I turned towards it, to see the child Val'kyr that answered, then blinked, seeing Luna lie next to her, curled around something.

“Hey!” Kit cried as she went to her, “Luna! It’s alright, what the hell were you doing out here alone anyways,” Feather turned around three times and then grew large enough for me to carry the smaller girl on him, “Come on, let’s get you to Daddy…”

She chewed my bottom lip, she was cold, but still breathing, “Luna, what were you doing up here?”

She barely heard the response over the winds as we flew back to warmth and safety, and certainly didn’t notice that child following them until they got back to Raine's farm.

“The shadows…” was the only thing Luna murmured.

Gah, I hope Daddy would know what she meant by that.

* * *

__  
  
Lucie.

_I hope that you are well, I have been resting at the farm here. All I truly remember of my time in Northrend is a great deal of traveling, the meeting with Vel and Mr. Leos, and then… my mind is a blank._

_Ereisa says that we then traveled to Icecrown, stopping in the Storm Peaks, and it was there that Kit found me, along with the flower._

_It is growing on the windowsill now. Araidne has been kind enough to let me attempt to grow it here._

_I have been paying back her kindness by caring for Taladren when she is away, and helping her with the herbs for the medicines while she is here. There is a clinic now, started with the remnants of refugees still in the Valley, and continued on with any that are hurt._

_I am unsure if she will ever truly return to Silvermoon, despite her visits now._

_Meanwhile, I am trying to find myself. The shadows come so easily to me… a struggle you also deal with. Yet there our paths differ, because even with the abilities of our kind, you have never shown any preference to anything you cannot do with your body. I remember clearly your saying that your hands were your strength._

_My mind is mine… however broken it is._

_Araidne has been helpful, but I do not feel that she and I are the same either. She forgives easily crimes that have been committed against her._

_Once you said the same thing of Kit. Now I understand it._

_I am unsure what I will do, but I do know that I will not hide here forever. Ereisa at least still is searching for her purpose. And unlike the other Val'kyr, she has no desire to serve the Queen of Undercity._

_If nothing else, I will find her home._

_Please take care._

_Luna._   
  


* * *

 

_Luna._

_I apologize for my harsh words before. Do not ask me to ever repeat that._

_Why do you need a purpose. Just live. Be your own person._

_Do what you want. Get lucky and maybe you’ll find someone to do it with you._

_Now fuck off._

_Luce._


	5. Corruption and Fever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leona falls to the nightmare causes by the Voices... and fights it off; however...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a bit of added writing in the end, just to make things coherent and show them actually going towards the Outlands.

**Corruption and Fever**

**  
**Leona hugged her pillow as she sat on the edge of the bed, ignoring the two whelps that called Judessa’s room home.

It would have been easier if Kit had been able to stay. The two of them were doing just fine camping in one of the empty rooms. The nightmares didn’t come when her big sister was around.

_But…_  she frowned, _I can’t keep Kit around me all the time. Even if it wasn’t Luna, she’d still have to leave._

_I have to fight the nightmares without her help._

She sighed, so far the only way was to not sleep, and she left the room even before the sun came up, walking quietly through the halls.

Kit had them running along the more empty ones, but she didn’t want to disturb anyone that might be sleeping.

Leona shook her head, putting her hand on the wall to guide her way…

She immediately flinched and withdrew it, kneeling and covering her ears as the screaming from  _elsewhere._

_How is lying around and eating sweets going to teach me to fight this?_

She shivered, reaching into her bag for her gloves… full gloves, not the fingerless ones she used to wear on Vel’s suggestion… and hastily put them on.

No, Judessa was wrong, she felt it. That method would make her more vulnerable to  _them_.

Whoever they were…

But she did promise. She would try it for one day.

There was a slight chance she was being paranoid after all.

* * *

  
Finally, Kit was heading back to Jude’s house. Luna seemed like she would be alright, whenever she awoke… and other than a strange plant she kept clutched tightly to her, she had no clue what had happened.

Raine and Arymia were looking after her for right now, and they waved me off, telling Kit that she would be alright.

She was felt with a sudden need to check on Leona. She already was having a rough time of it, and Kit knew that she had nightmares.

She found her before I actually reached the front gates, beating on trees with her staff.

“Oi! You’re already ready for a sparring match?” she called.

She turned to me.

Something about how she was standing and frowning should have warned her for what was about to happen.  
  


* * *

_**“You are Death, You will destroy everything that you touch.”** _

Leona covered her ears as she ran, not aware of anything other than that voice, the same one that sounded before she was trapped and hurt Kit.

_**“Embrace it! Stop fighting your destiny! Do you really think that you will escape that easily?** _

She couldn’t sense anything familiar, no scents or noises that would help her…

Leona paused, forget anything familiar, there was  _nothing_  that she could sense. Tentatively, she took off her glove and reached out her hand.

Someone soft was next to her, but something cold, she frowned as she traced the body, then felt the wound in the person’s side, raised her hand to sniff at the thick liquid there.

Blood.

And then… there was a sense, coppery and decomposing, and she reached out to find another body, and another…

It was never-ending. If she ran away from that place, there would be bodies where she stopped at. There was no escape.

And still no sound. The world was silent.

_**"Isn’t it wonderful? They killed your family, they deserve it, don’t they?”** _

“No!” she screamed, kneeling in tears, her hand landing on a familiar form.

“No…” she whispered, bringing it up to the face, tracing it as she had done so many times before, and then biting back a scream as she covered her mouth.

She jumped as someone placed a hand on her.

“She deserves it most of all,” said a deep voice, “Pretending to be your friend, your ‘big sister’ when believing that you are nothing more than a pet to her.”

Leona paused, then slowly started laughing, whirling to face the one behind her, “You don’t know her if you think it’s an act!” she said, as she tried to land a punch.

It was grabbed, “You really think you can stay with them?” he hissed, “Your true nature will come out sooner or later. How many of them will betray you when they know?”

“I don’t care,” Leona said, her eyes narrowing, “I’m going to fight! I won’t give in to…” the stench of death was nearly overpowering now, “I won’t be like you! Or like any of our family!”

With that, she started awake, her breath held until she could sense the softness of pillows beneath her, and the warmness of Kit next to her.

And she knew it was Kit because  _no one_  smelt that  _much_  like apples and adventure.

The strange mix of sea-water and fire was as much her big sisters as the small bit of magic that she could sense from her.

Leona smiled, she had a way to fight the nightmares now… and all it took was belief in one person.

She frowned.

“I have to find more."   
  
A hacking cough interrupted her thoughts, and she doubled over trying to breathe as the Voices failed in their first attack and tried another.  
  
Suddenly she was too weak, and her skin felt it was burning.  
  
"Leona!"   
  
Kit's worried voice called to her, but she could barely hear it as she shrunk down to her whelping size and continued coughing.  
  


* * *

  
_"You need to take here where the Void cannot reach."_  
  
Evirin offered to fly her, Luce was to follow after she finished a bit of business for Cero.  
  
Kit held tightly onto the fevered whelpling, trying hard to think of where to go once they passed the Dark Portal and into the Outlands.  
  
 _Not Shadowmoon..._  
  
 _Weren't there druids that settled over here? No, they went to a swamp, that'd be horrid for her... Oh! Wait! There are some in the Blade's Edge! It's a desert isn't it?_  
  
Kit didn't know of the black dragons that had once went there, what had happened to them.  
  
She just knew that there would be someone that possibly could heal Leona.   
  



	6. Mission Reports

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> From the files of Mira Ashsong, two glimpses into what happened as the Dark Portal was twisted and the timeline for Draenor changed.

**Mission Reports**   
  


_Mission Report 4093-A_

  
_This report is written by Lucierin Featherblood, to be directly put into the hands of General Cero Sunsoul, and a copy filed with his second-in-command, Lord Theravir Fala'thiel and Lady Judessa Farflight. Another copy shall also be entrusted to his consultant Velerodra Valesinger, and one to be given to his apprentice Mira Ashsong for filing._

  
_The contents of this report are sensitive material and as such will only be viewed by those listed above and those with the bronze clearance level. The copies other than the one for filing are all slated to self-destruct as soon as are read thanks to a charm worked into the scroll they are written on._

My mission was one of small importance, track down the orcs still showing loyalty for Garrosh, and then after gaining information with them, arrange an accident to ensure that they would not achieve any goals that they had. As too many would draw attention to our own movements, I had only four target groups, each a squad of three to five soldiers.

The first was a group of five, two women and three men, comprised mostly of shaman, and they were the ones that I was able to find out that Garrosh wanted a distraction so that he could escape through the Dark Portal. As this information had already been gained by other sources, and they had no other useful things to share, I set them on their way, watching as their elementals tore at them once they had been freed of their bindings.

No I am not aware that taking the stones of command would do such a thing. It was a pleasant surprise and I am setting the stones in the laboratory along with the filed copy of this report.

The second group was a tad more cautious, mostly guard, though I did recognize one as the orc that branded the orphans during the onset of Garrosh’s time as Warchief. They had no information, but I took my time ensuring that, and also watched as the four others turned upon the brander, slicing him to ribbons before walking into that pack of ravasaurs that had been attracted by the blood.

Again, I can not say what caused the disagreement or the carelessness. All I know is that they had been hearing strange voices in the woods at night.

The third is almost not worth noting, except that they walked off a cliff running in terror from some apparition of their guilt. They screamed something about black wings of fire as they fell.

The fourth however I found rather intriguing, having not only the most in regards to information, but also, they had a prisoner, who at first glance seemed to be a dirt-cased elfin child. On further investigation, I found that these were Blackrock orcs that had changed allegiances during the last siege on that mountain in the days following the Catacylsm and had captured the whelpling and others to sacrifice or otherwise experiment. I do not know what sort of power dragon blood can grant, but having witnessed other demonstrations of blood magic, I did not feel right leaving the child with them, though…

_(Several lines seem to be omitted here, along with a scrawled note by Mira: “Please ignore Lucie’s personal opinions over dragons. It has nothing to do with the facts and I have erased most of them.”)_

…damn sniveling reptiles that have no sense of self-reliance. But I still cannot leave a scared child no matter what she is. Besides, she might have more information, if she should choose to come back with me rather than return to her home.

This time the trap was a tad trickier to set, I had to take care of the three without harming the whelpling, and it was a few days of following them before I had a chance to do so. They set her against a tree and when they weren’t looking, I snatched her up and left a few of my toys to give them a proper send-off.

The child I shall send to Judessa, as I have no use or patience to attempt to care for a run-away. She claims that she has no choice but to come with me, that none of her flight (I did not ask, and do not care to), will accept her back now that she has been tainted. I am sending several scrolls and charms to Theravir for study, it all seems to concern the magic experiment that these orcs were discussing before I dispatched them. The elemental stones of binding taken from the first group shall be turned over to the Organization’s Consultant Velerodra.

When pressed on how the child was tainted as she claims, she only shivered and said that they had to eat something dark. Her eyes have the natural fel-tint, and I do not think it is a part of a disguise as she notes she was kept next to the warlocks in that cavern beneath Orgrimmar before news of the siege facilitated the escape, her clothing and hands and feet show that she had been on the road for a long time, forced to stay as an elf for ease of travel for them, and agreed to stay in that form for a bit longer until I got her to Silvermoon and the Farflight manor.

Sadly, Kylie seems rather fond of me. I shall have to scare her away to ensure that she doesn’t get hurt. I have too many liabilities as it is…

_(Another set of lines omitted and Mira’s note: “Lucie seems to want to delude herself that she will end up killing every one of us. Do not worry about it, those who know her best know it as a term of endearment from her.”)_

…damn brat of a demon snake! And I will kill anyone that says otherwise!  
We returned to the safehouse first, and I sent Nessa to clean Kylie up.

Further travel to Silvermoon was delayed as news of Kit’s injuries reached us and we went first to see to her. A secondary report will be filed as needed when the information Kylie has is known, however it will by then be out of my hands.

And as a reminder, if I find that any of this information has been used to further any…

_(A near full page seems to be omitted here: “I am sorry General, Lucie has made a rather elaborate suggestion of what she will do with your entrails and such if she finds that the child she rescued has been harmed in any way, despite any claims to not care for… in her words… ‘fucking reptile leeches that can’t seem to go the fuck away.’ I er… did keep a copy of the entire transcript, but it did seem a bit violent and unnecessary to include it here.)_

In closing, up yours and I hate you all.  
Lucierin K. Featherblood.  
  


* * *

_Mission Report 2095-B_

_This report is dictated by Leona to Serene Icesong, to be directly put into the hands of Lady Judessa Farflight. Another copy shall also be entrusted to the General’s consultant Velerodra Valesinger, and one to be given to his apprentice Mira Ashsong for filing._   
_The contents of this report are sensitive material and as such will only be viewed by those listed above and those with the silver clearance level. The copies other than the one for filing are all slated to self-destruct as soon as are read thanks to a charm worked into the scroll they are written on._

Big Sister wants me to make the report, and Ms. Ashsong agrees. I have never made one before, for the small missions that the General had sent us on earlier in our service, Serene had always written the report and filed it under the research division. She says that this report is to go to Jude for public relations and that I should be as truthful as possible in making it.

At the same time, it admits to a ruse that we had pulled, that Mole was only sick for the first day that we went to the Outland, and when we stayed after that, it was because we had found a home of sorts for her that we were hesitant to leave, not because we were still nursing her back to health. Not that we were ungrateful to the General and Judessa for opening their homes to us, it was just… this was a better place for Mole. Here she was safe without being sheltered, though she wished that she could have gotten everyone she counted as family there to stay.  
  
Judessa’s drake Envion had already more than likely told her all of this, but I feel that I must start the report by setting the record straight and apologizing for our falsehood. It was made with the best of intentions.

_(“Personally, I think that this particular lie should never even be mentioned again. And Lea does not need to apologize for actions of others.”)_

Mole was taken by Kit, Evirin, and myself to Outland, and there we traveled to Blade’s Edge… mostly because Kit had never been there before and it sounded, in her words, “Really cool!” She mentioned that there were druids there, but I think even with Mole being very sick, the coolness factor was the deciding one.  
  
There we were captured by a group of blacks… I say captured, though it was more like a forced “Come with us.” And it happened because Kit was trying her best to remove a dragon’s body from one of the spikes high up on one of the canyon walls, wanting to give a proper burial to her. I did not see, but she claimed that there were more than one, and from what I understand, it happened a very long time ago.

We were taken to the Baron Sablemane, who spent a great deal of time examining Mole, and he managed to cure most of her illness, then gave her the choice to remain with his brood, and she and I negotiated for Kit and the others to stay as well.

I say negotiated, but I am shameful to say that she and I pulled a downright tantrum about the whole affair.

_(“I don’t believe it was shameful as she says, I’ve seen their tantrums. They’re rather adorable.”)_

That first night, I slept while Kit and Evie discussed the implications of a group of black dragons living beyond the portal and then discussed whether or not to stay with Mole. Given that the Voices of the Old Gods do not appear to reach past the Portal, they agreed to give it a bit of time, to let her heal and have the company of those her own age outside of the influence that had been causing her such pain in Azeroth.

I’m sure that there is more to it than that, but I have not been told otherwise.

Evie left when Judessa sent for him, and we stayed behind, which made me feel a tad guilty, but they assured me that he would be back to visit soon. Meanwhile, Kit set to aiding where they could the strange community, and I helped along with them. A lot of the work was hunting animals and gathering herbs for food and medicines, though they also did some repairs on the buildings that were used to help disguise the brood’s den.

It at the time of the Burning Crusade was the Cenarion outpost, but after the troubles then had been defeated, most of the druids returned to Azeroth, leaving only a handful of people to care for matters here. They traded with both the Horde and Alliance outposts… what few were left of them… and the Mag'har village to the south, and had set about the difficult task of regaining the formal beauty of Blade’s Edge from the dry canyons and desert. In this, the small group of Blacks and the druids left were actually succeeding a small bit. Most of the druids were aged, being led at the time by an elder that I never learned the name of, though there were one or two that seemed to me to be very young, but they assured me that they had already lived hundreds of years. I admit to not being used to Kalodorei, so I must abstain from further comment on them, for that reason and for the reason that we did not have very much in the way with contact with the druids, despite living in the same outpost. They mostly kept to themselves. On the other hand, a good many of the dragons were very young, a few years older than Mole at best, and the rest ranged between the drakes and the rather old dragon most called Grandfather and most stayed away from.

Kit and I couldn’t possibly stay away.

I think that she reminded him of his son, who I never found out how he died, just that he was one of the very few black dragons that went about his life fighting his best against the Voices, a feat that given the rest of the flight, seems rather impressive. From what Grandfather says, it was because his son never kept a thought in his head for more than two minutes and was always on some “damn fool adventure.” As for Grandfather, he spent a good deal of time with his garden, and I spent a good deal of time with him, helping him sort out his old storehouse and other odd jobs that he had. He mostly complained and stated loudly at least twice a day that part of being old was to wear a funny hat and grow things in the dirt and chase annoying pests away.

I loved him.

_(“The last was said in a whisper and Leona nearly turned white, and was silent for a few moments before continuing.”)_

There was another group of Blacks in the mountains there, but until halfway through the second month, we had not heard from them.

At that time, an emissary came from there, demanding that the Baron give them the whelplings and the younger drakes so that they could prepare for the Prince’s arrival.

I am not sure who exactly was the one who shot that person in the arm, as Kit was right there, her temper flaring. She loudly told the woman exactly what Wrathion did in Azeroth and called them damn bloody fools for expecting him to do less here and gave another warning against the Blacktalon that followed him, along with rather colorful remarks about their mothers and where they can place things that I cannot repeat here or there will be a long line to wash my mouth out with soap.

The emissary left, and then plans were made to scout their territory to see how true her claims of being prepared for war were.

Apparently exceptionally prepared. Only one drake from the patrol sent returned. The community then prepared for battle, and when Kit started to volunteer their help, they and I were sent with the whelplings and Grandfather to a safe place they had prepared some time ago.

Our guide was a tauren druid named Anlen Moonwhisper, and during the trip, Kit kept as merry as possible, though strain was in her voice that I know carried to the whelps. Mole and I did not say anything, both of us thinking that if we were only stronger and bigger that we could help fight, our usual regret and wish.

We waited for news in that sanctuary, but none came, and on the seventh day, they attacked.

_(“Leona has great difficulty recounting the next part. I waited for nearly two hours for her to ease out of the rage the memories brings her to and then to still the tears that always follow. I think it is something that will haunt her to the rest of her days.”)_

My survival is only because Kit threw me down and covered me, I'm not sure how she survived the dragon breath. I know that she was wounded in doing this. Neither of us tried to talk during the screams and tears.

I know that Grandfather and Anlen were both fighting. Their corpses were the first that we found the next day. It took us time but we were able to collect all the bodies of the whelplings and perform funeral rites for them.

By then Kit could see flames in other parts of the mountains and feared the worst. She tried to climb up to see if there were any survivors and it was on her return that she had grabbed me and threw me to the ground.

I did not hear the steps behind me or feel the wind shift as the dagger had come towards me, it was by sheer luck that Kit had glanced over, and she acted quickly, impaling herself on the knife as she threw me to safety, then twisted to take care of the assassin.

We were summoned to the General’s home directly after that, and Kit was tended to by Ms. Ashsong, aided by Luce and Luna, at which time I found out that the dagger had been poisoned, and it missed her heart by the barest of space. She survived and afterwards returned to the Peak for further healing and training.

However, Mole did not survive. I know because I buried her body myself, it seems that sometime during that horrible night she crawled out from under Tara to attempt to help her new friends. She stayed behind in Blade’s Edge, where she had found a bit of happiness away from the influence of the Old Gods, however short-lived it was. I mention this because it was the mission of the ones attacking the glade to kill all of the children of the Black Flight. In that, their mission was a success. None of the dragons there survived. Those that were not killed by the massacre were assassinated by shadow agents.

Wrathion should be proud of his Blacktalon.

_(“Another bit of time for the rage and tears to subside. I believe that it might be in this child’s best interests to not mention any of the massacre that she describes happening, or even of the Blacktalon or Wrathion. Ever.”)_

Because of this, I am willing to take the General’s offer of a teacher and adopted home for me, to help me become stronger so that I can protect those that I love. I do not ever want a repeat of this senseless killing to occur. In doing so, I am also placing my resignation from the General’s forces until such time as my new guardian deems me ready.

Respectfully Submitted,

Leona. _(as dictated to Serene Icesong)._

 


	7. The Lost Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raine wanders deeper into Draenor with the armies, Kit joins the garrison under Judessa's command.

**The Lost Family**

  
She stitched the wounds closed, sweat beading on her forehead as she concentrated on the patient’s vitals, not letting anything falter for a fraction of a second, concentrating on him and him alone.

It had been a long time since she had begun work, the other nurses were just as silent, the hospital had been in operation for barely a month, but already they had been filled to capacity.

Finally she was finished, and bowed to the troll before going to her next patient to find that there was not one waiting.

"Ah Starblood, commander wanted to see you,” a tauren woman said as she passed her by, “I think we’re done for the time being. Go on ahead.”

Bowing once more she left the tent, going to brush her silver hair behind her ear, then smiled sadly as she touched the wisp of what was left.

Shaking her head, she walked across the garrison, finding the commander’s office quickly and knocked on the post next to the main entrance, “Come in,” came the gruff voice of the Sunwalker in charge,“Araidne Starblood was it?” he asked as she entered, “I’ve been looking into your history… where were you before June of this year?”

She reached for her notepad, quickly writing something down and handing it to him. He frowned as he looked at her words, “A convent…?” he narrowed his eyes, “I was unaware that the Blood Elves had any left standing.”

She wrote another note and handed it to him. He shook his head, “No, there is no problem with your healing… I was just curious. The scars on your face, you said they happened during the march of the scourge?”

Araidne nodded quietly, “And you have no contacts now? Not even this convent…?” he frowned, “I’ll be honest with you Starblood. I find your story… less than believable. There are…” he sighed, “Not that I can raise much of a fuss out here, and I am grateful to you. We’ve had word from the front. They want more healers at the posts there. I’m sending you and a few others, but I knew…”

He sighed as he stood, starting to pace the tent, “The commander there is highly suspicious and will ask. Starblood, is there any reason that you are in hiding?”

Smiling sadly, she wrote one last thing on her notepad and bowed before walking back out of the tent.

He frowned as he read it, “Then I’ll be sending you to the front lines tomorrow,” he said before she left.

She paused, then glanced back, nodding gravely before stepping into the cold air.  
  


* * *

Kit wanted to be helpful.

Ever since she came to the garrison, she had been trying to help. Just… Evie and Judessa weren’t letting her do much of anything.

But no matter, today Evie had some lordly things for Jude… so no nagging about how she needed to take it easy. And there  _was_ something she noticed that needed doing.

She walked right into the stables, pulling her red-gold hair up into a ponytail as she waved at the orc in charge, “Commander sent me to clean the stalls and wash the mounts,” she said happily.

He glared down at her, then grunted and thrust a rake in her general direction, “Start there,” he pointed, “Do a bad job and I’ll give you the dragon’s.”

“Oh that’s fine, I’m here to check on the dragon’s stall anyways,” Kit said cheerfully, “Seems a shame that the only one that bothers to clean it is Evie when he’s on punishment.”

That earned her a glare and she whistled as she went to work on the first stall she was pointed to.

Hard work, and Judessa would have kittens if she knew she was doing it. “After all, your injuries aren’t all healed yet,” she imitated her under her breath as she mucked out the stall, “Like I was a kid… WORSE than a kid, least they are told to do dishes or something.”

She went to bring in fresh hay and feed, “And it’s not like I’ve been stabbed before. Well, maybe not stabbed… but I’ve had broken bones and…”

Jude’s windsteed was staring at her oddly and she sighed, leading Rinrin out and getting ready to bathe him, “I swear you get hit in the heart  _ONCE_  and…”

A loud growl interrupted her and she glanced to see a few peons running from the large stall at the end of the stables, “Envion’s loosing his temper again,” she giggled, “Good thing I brought him a couple of presents.”

The windsteed was shining, and she led him back into the stall, just in time to meet the Stable Master stomping towards her.

“YOU,” he pointed to the back, “FIX IT NOW.”

She blinked innocently, “What do you mean?”

“You came to check on dragon! Go do your job!” he snapped and she shrugged, then whirled, skipping over to that last stall.

“Hey, might want to watch that,” she grinned as she opened the gate, “And after I brought you a chest of goodies for your hoard too.”

The dragon glared at her and she looked around the stall, “Poor Lordling, he actually did a good job last time huh. Good, I can show you what I brought.”

She closed the gate behind her and pulled her knapsack off her back, “Look, I brought my entire collection,” she said as she plopped down next to him, “Um, a few stones I found,” she tossed them to the side, “And here’s a shark tooth… oh, and apples of course. I got some gold ones… here we go!”

She leaned against him and took out a book, “Figured you were getting bored stuck here. Good thing I brought my adventure books… don’t give me that look, these are the clean ones.”

He puffed and she opened it up, “ _Phoenix Star and the Titan’s Eye… Chapter One, Phoenix had been in some sticky situations before, but not ones where she was actually stuck in tar up to her chest…_ ”

Alright, so they might not have a cow over THIS job. And poor Envie did seem bored out of his mind that he couldn’t go flying. A drake wasn’t a very practical mount for troop inspection after all…  
  
Kit chewed her bottom lip. She knew what else may have been bothering him.

But... it had been Leona's choice. She woke up in the medical bay at Cero's home, and the adoption was done with. 

If... maybe if she had said something earlier, when she received the letter that her father had sent long before Leona fell ill.   
  
"...We've got to respect it," she said quietly, "... Daddy's right, I only ever lead anyone into trouble..."


	8. Letters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leona writes to Judessa about her new family.

**Letters**

**  
** **_Jude,_ **

_Kit asked me to write and Serene made me this parchment that puts my spoken thoughts onto it. It is odd to use, but I like that it lets me keep in touch with those that I love._

_Has Kit met with you and Evie yet? I miss you all, but I’m working hard on my studies with Varotin. He says that I have a great gift for swords. Once I’m strong and big enough, I want to see if I can be a bodyguard like Evie._

_Mira is odd, but I like her. She seems to always double-check herself, but she is just as curious as Kit is, even if it is in different things. She promised that she can send this letter to you without the ones following me seeing it._

_I’ve included a few gifts that I made, first, for Evie, the rings that I promised to make him and Kit a while back. Tell him I apologize for taking so long, but it was hard to get them just right._

_Then the necklace is for Fever. I still fear him a little, but I miss him terribly, I hope that he doesn’t throw it away._

_And lastly, I made you a set of pens. They’re all from different minerals, the amethyst one is my favorite, it felt just right in my hands._

_I hope that Mira is right and this package finds you well. I love you all, and miss you immensely._

_Perhaps we can come visit sometime. Mira says to return a letter to just put it in the flames that come with this package. I… am not sure how well it will work._

_With love,_

**_Leona_ **

 

* * *

****

**_Jude,_ **

  
_Your letter found me very well, and I like your wolf, he’s very nice._

_Thank you for the blanket, Mira says that it’s very beautiful. I like how it feels, and it’s surprisingly warm given how light it is. There’s a magic-y feel to it that makes me comfortable, I’m under it nights while I work on stones before going to sleep._

  
_I am glad that you liked the pens, I am working on a set of necklaces now for Serene’s children. I hope that they’re not born until after we return, I want to be there. But in any case, I’m working on a protective charm in the stone._

  
_Oh, I’m not sure if I should have mentioned that. I know that she hasn’t told very many people about it. She was worried about something, but wouldn’t tell me what._

  
_Thank you for giving the presents to Evie and Fever. And thank you for letting me know that Kit made it. Papa says that we’ll be heading towards where you are soon, I hope that we can stay for a while._

  
_Kit won’t be angry at me for coming, but Evie might be, can you explain to him that I had to see if there was something that I can do. And I’m not alone._

  
_As for trusting Papa… Varotin… and Mira… I thought that you trusted General Cero. He handpicked them. Papa and I have gotten close, he has taught me many things already, though at times you wouldn’t guess that he’s as smart as he is. I think you’ll like him, I know that Kit does, though I don’t think that he remembers her name._

  
_Mira I am unsure about at times, and I think it’s because Serene is constantly arguing with her. She seems lost, like a small child. At other times she seems very old. It’s odd, but I like being around her._

  
_I’m learning a great deal about myself out here. It’s an odd thing to say, but Papa has shown me how to listen to the world around me better. He says that before you can see you have to feel._

  
_I wonder if this means that my eyes can be healed one day. I think on that a lot, though it’s a selfish wish._

  
_I bet you’re very beautiful. But I am not entirely sure what that word means in terms of looks, but you’ve always sounded beautiful to me._

  
_Oh! How are you liking the thoughts? I’m using the rune system that Serene taught me, I never thought that I would write a letter on my own, the words are running wild from me._

  
_Give Kit my love, and tell her that I’ll come and visit her soon. Make sure that Evirin gets the kiss I put in the corner, and ask Kit to not tease him so much._

  
_There’s another kiss in the other corner for you,_

  
_With love,_

  
**_Leona._ **

  
_P.S. How does my signature look? I wrote that the normal way, Mira showed me how. It’s messy, isn’t it? But I wanted to sign the thoughts properly._

  
_P.P.S. Mira says that she included the primer for the runes in the note, so you can write me back in the same way. I found that I like touching the thoughts. I’ll be putting some of these runes in stones as well._

 

* * *

 

Leona frowned, then looked at the wolf and patted him, “The first letter is for Jude, and the second is for Fever. I marked them, but…” she held the first up, “This is for Jude,” she said as she placed it in the satchel, “And this is for Fever,” she added as she held up the second one and put it in, “And this is for you,” she smiled as she placed a round emerald charm on his collar, “Do you like it?”

  
****_Jude,  
_   
_I will come as soon as I can, Papa says that we can head there immediately since we know where you are now. The other letter is for Fever, since you say that he misses me. Are you certain that he does… I do not remember him having a fond opinion of me._  
  
_Oh! I will love for you to teach me to sign properly. Thank you so much!_  
  
_I made something for your wolf, he’s very sweet, and my puppy likes him very much._  
  
_Love,_   
****_Leona._

  
****_Fever,_  
  
_I know that you do not understand my relationship with Serene, so I will make this perfectly clear. I trust her and Aura, and I am happy they asked me to be a part of their joy. Did you not think that perhaps there is a reason I am making a protective charm for them? They have enemies as well._  
  
_But then, I suppose you know everything, you certainly have made it clear thus far._  
  
_Kit knows the reason I am not with her. I did not forsake them, as you so accuse me. You talk about a dagger? It was my own cousin that had aimed it at my back, planted it in Big Sister’s chest when she interceded._  
  
_You want me to listen? Then go and ask Kit yourself._  
  
_Perhaps you might take a moment to read the report I made on the Outland. Or are you going to assume it’s more of my “silly prattling?”_

_Even so, with love,_

**_Leona_ **

****


	9. Papa's Eye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One more letter from Leona. For Cero.

**Papa's Eye**

_General Sunsoul,_

_I want to thank you for giving Papa the pebble. I cannot wait to speak with you in person, I think that you must be the second-most handsome person, with Evirin being the third. Mama is beautiful and she asked me to include her notes and the samples she took from Papa and me._

_I am sure that it does a lot of good, but do needles have to hurt?_

_There are so many things for me to learn now that I can see, though I am still going to use the runes that Serene and Aura made for me. Mira says that your eyes can become strained if you overuse them, so I am making sure to close mine for at least fifteen minutes every hour, and I promise that I will go to bed like I am supposed to. I do not want to hurt Papa’s eye, not when he gave it to me to care for._

_I am sending a copy of this letter to Jude. She seemed nervous about Papa and Mama and didn’t like that I wasn’t with Kit and Evirin anymore, and Kit and I couldn’t explain properly. I won’t put in this part obviously, but knowing that Papa did that might make her feel better about him._

_I am not going to tell Kit yet though, I want to surprise her. Is she as beautiful as Mama? I want to think she is. I cannot wait to see her and Jude again and find out. And stars, I have always wondered what those were, and no one could really explain it to me. Kit once said that they were like gems up in the sky, but even that didn’t help me._

_I have made a new friend, a very shy girl that smells of magic named Malryis. I hope that she will not be afraid of me any longer, and I cannot wait to see how beautiful she is as well. I think her looks will be soft like her voice was._

_There was someone else I met recently, someone I think you ought to be aware of. A woman in armor, she did not give a name, but her voice was hollow, as if she wasn’t there really. She told me that I was the representative of Light and then nearly attacked Malyris and the hunter that was with me at the time. I managed to get her to leave them alone, but then she attacked something else, and when I checked on her, she called her Light and… I heard it, she’s being used, but I think it will shatter her if she found out the truth. What she follows is most certainly not Light and I think that you need to be aware of her._

_I hope that she can be saved… I feel sorry for her._  
  
_There's more, I… wanted to say good bye to Grandfather. I know that he had a note that he wanted to give his son, and I am looking for his remains now so that I can deliver it._

_I do not know if I should read it, it seems like it would be a personal thing._

_I hope to meet with you soon, so that I can find out if you are as handsome as your voice leads me to believe._

_Once more, thank you for Papa and for his eye._

  
_With Love,_

_Leona_


	10. Miscarriage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Serene suffers and blames herself. Leona tries to help.
> 
> Also the first time Leona enters berserker mode!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the stuff dealing with Serene's miscarriage and lost of the twins. Feel free to skip this chapter altogether if that is something you don't want to read.
> 
> I feel that it's important to include it in my archives.

**Miscarriage**

_Aura,_

_It was my fault. It had to have been, my selfishness has cost us dearly and now I can barely even form the words to tell you what has happened._

_Our Heart was in control when it started, and we went into action, luckily Mira had studied those books and had managed to learn so quickly, she knew exactly what to do, and the healer she had brought was even more skilled._

_They didn’t stop moving until far after it was over._

_They had to operate, it was the last resort, but they had to…_

_I am sorry. It is harder than I thought it would be to write this letter. I… if I had the option, I would just hide inside your mind like I used to, it’s so much easier than dealing with the pain like a grown person. I do not know why our connection was cut, and I miss it now more than ever._

_The children, there were two… they were stillborn._

_Right now I have locked myself inside my room, Mira and Leona take turns to bring me food, leaving it right outside, but I have yet to accept it or to talk to either one of them, I can barely look either in the eye._

_It’s all my fault, if I had not insisted on…_

_Our Heart is missing. She has been since it occurred, and none of us can find her. I am afraid that the pain we were hiding from her and this new pain have destroyed her and I cannot forgive myself for that either._

_We are no longer bound. You have the choice now, make me pay for my foolish mistakes all on my own. When I am healed enough, I shall go to Draenor and join the war there._

_The letter I will leave outside the door, I think that Leona will deliver it to you._  
_With affection that I do not deserve to have,_

_Serene._

Another letter was tucked behind the first, written in a series of raised runes, and with a small unicorn carved out of a moonstone stuffed in the folds.

_Mr. Aura,_

_I am sorry about the babies, I know that can’t help anything, but I felt that I had to say it. I read Serene’s letter, I know it was wrong, but I wanted to see what thoughts she had sent you._

_Please don’t stay away. I know that we can find Serene’s heart again, I’ll even help to look. I am not sure how it could be lost, but I bet if her heart is anywhere, it might be in one of her books, so I’ll search in the library first._

_I made you something, I know that it isn’t much, but I thought that you might like it. You said white was your favorite color, so I found a stone that was that, but there are lots of little shimmers in it too. I hope that you like it._

_I keep trying to talk to Serene, she hasn’t said a word yet, but I was so happy to see her letter._

_When you come home, please don’t try to talk to her right away, I think just sitting next to her will do more good than anything else. I’ve been sitting beside her door, waiting for some sound, and I like to think that just being there helps._

_There are a bunch of small stones I carved for her outside her door, I keep watching to see if she takes any inside, which is foolish since at the time she doesn’t even eat her food, but I keep hoping. I won’t mind if any of them get broken, but I figured that I better warn you so that you don’t trip on them._

_I want to be here when she does come out, and I would like it if you were with me. I hope that they let you return soon, Mama and I are cheering for you. I know that Serene is too, and she’ll speak to us again, I know it. It’s important that you finish what you are doing, at least I think so. Serene told me a little of it before everything happened._

_I don’t think it was the spell that you both worked on. Neither does Mama._

_With Love,_  
_Leona_

* * *

 

_“Because no matter what, you are my precious daughter.”_

The dark girl with red-hair hugged her knees and leaned her head against the door, still waiting for Serene to come out and talk, even if it was just to tell her to stop littering the hall with her stone animals.

Papa had come by earlier, sat and talked with her about many things.

And now she was confused, because what he said made more sense than anything anyone else had ever said, but…

Leona shook her head, he wasn’t asking anything of her. He was telling her to be true to herself. That he loved her.

She wondered if he said all of that because of the babies.

_“It doesn’t matter what your name was before, you’re Leona now.”_

Her original parents were long gone. And as close as she was to Evirin and Kit, they were more like elder siblings, just like Serene and Aura were to her.

Cero chose Varotin to be her new father. And while she had doubts and worries… Papa had none. He accepted her without question, not caring about her past or who she was.

Evirin was hurt by the decision.

Leona took it when Kit was unconscious, leaving her in the care of Mira and Lucierin, and then deciding for herself that she would trust the General.

Kit trusted him without question. Why couldn’t she?

But she hurt Evirin… it was something she regretted. Maybe she should have talked to him first, even if he wasn’t anywhere to be found when they had returned.

It was her fault Kit had been dying, it seemed like the right decision at the time.

_“Never doubt yourself again.”_

Already she was forgetting Papa’s words. Leona wiped tears from her eyes and then looked to Serene’s door.

She needed to come out. Leona wasn’t sure why she knew this, but she did. Serene wouldn’t heal in there alone with guilt.

The small girl stood, walking to the door and opening it, surprised that it was unlocked.

“Serene…?” she whispered, then paused.

There was no scent, no sound of movement.

The elder girl was simply not there. And judging by the scent of arcane in the air, she had gone a few hours before.

Leona frowned, “She left when I was delivering the letters,” she realized, then covered her mouth, “Aura is coming back, I begged him to!”

Frantically she tried to remember Serene’s letter, pacing the room as she searched for clues, She said she was going to Draenor, could she have left already?

Did Leona dare follow? Papa and Mama were willing to go the first time, but now…

**_Serene’s heart!_ **

The letter said that she had lost it! Leona would go after her, once Aura came back, and once she found whatever the heart was. Then both of them could go and return it.

Papa and Mama would understand.

And maybe she could find Evirin over there, talk to him properly… the last time she had gone to Jude’s garrison, she didn’t get a chance to.

No. She couldn’t go for selfish reasons.

That heart had to be returned, Serene wouldn’t heal without it, and the letter made it seem like her most important thing.

Leona  _ **had**_  to find it!

* * *

 

  
The air was cold here, and Leona wrapped her cloak around her, wondering if it was possible that Serene might be near one of the molten fields.

Not much chance of that, the mage was notorious for being far more comfortable in blizzards than inside with a cup of cocoa and a warm blanket. 

_Maybe I should have waited for Aura after all…_

Leona touched a small blue stone hanging from her belt and frowned, the connection between it and the source was fading, and that meant she was running out of time.

She was right, she had found something in the library. A small girl nearly identical to Serene was hiding in a fort made of pillows and books. One that was so petrified to talk to anyone she nearly ran before Leona grabbed her arm.

It had started to quickly snow and the small girl pulled her cloak closer to her and tried to follow the trail the stone made. One that she had managed to get from that girl that went by the name of Sweet.

She didn’t ask questions, just promised to bring Serene back, made the girl stay there and promise in return to talk to Aura.

Something told her that it was important that she did, that there wasn’t a lot of  _time_.

Leona paused at the crossroads, the stone was telling her to go north, but Jude’s garrison was close by, to the south west…

Briefly she wondered if she should run there, beg Evirin to help. 

She didn’t wait for Aura, she didn’t tell Papa or Mama where she was… she didn’t have time to go and talk to Judessa and Evirin.

The stone was still growing weaker, and there was a wail coming over the wind.

Leona started running. 

_How did she manage it? How many other parts were there other than Sweet?_

_Was that why the babies didn’t…_

_No time for questions!_  she angrily told herself,  _Sweet had been clear on that point! Serene is going to die if I can’t get them all back together._

Why she came out here was beyond her comprehension.

Vaguely she began to realize as she came over the ice dune and saw the mage that suicide might have been Serene’s plan all along...  


* * *

 

All she could hear was the howling of the wind.

Or rather, Serene assumed it was the wind, it very well could have been the remains of what compassion she had.

The biting cold and blinding snow didn’t bother her. Briefly she congratulated herself on that point, finally she found a place as cold-hearted as she was.

_The perfect place for a Monster to die._

Let her pay for her crimes against Theravir and Lyon, against the ones in her family that cast her out, against Aura…

_against the children…_

Serene closed her eyes, she had known all along hadn’t she? She was a monster incapable of love. Why has she fooled herself for this long?

_Why did I let him believe…?_

Her hand ghosted over her abdomen, only now feeling the emptiness howling in there that was howling on the wind, and she couldn’t even cry for them.

Not that it mattered, tears would freeze to her cheeks out here.

_The perfect place… leave me alone now, I will return the favor._

Barely she made out a sound above the howling, of someone calling her name.

Then she frowned, there was another sound, one of steel and the smell of warm blood, more sounds were coming over the wind now and she dimly began to realize that she was surrounded by this enemy.

“Serene!” shouted a voice and she was taken back by the amount of sheer  _anger_  in Leona’s voice.

She peered into the blinding snow, making out the shapes of the orcs that had tracked her down, the party scouts that she wondered if they had followed her since she made her portal to this place.

_Of course they could track it, I tapped blindly into their resources… this could even be the Shadow Council that Teacher warned me of._

_Another reason I deserve to die, sheer idiocy._

Leona called her name again, and in shock, she looked through the snow once more, her eyes widening as she started to make out the small form that was fighting through the party. The girl near unrecognizable in the fury that she wielded as the orcs fell to her swords.

_They’re wooden… how is she…_

Serene stopped that thought as one of the orcs managed to get the better hand of Leona, her hands glowing with arcane as she summoned the full might of the blizzard to her hands and then unleashed it towards the orcs, impaling them on ice.

The air was clear now, and she could see Leona clearly, hating herself for the broken armor and blood that ran from the girl’s wounds… still unnoticed by the child as she ran towards Serene.

“You. Do. Not. Have. The.  _Right_!” Leona shouted as she rammed into Serene, knocking her down and then started flailing at her, beating her with her small fists, “Too many people love you! What about  _them_?!?”

Serene winced, silently summoning her ice armor beneath her clothing to withstand the odd strength of the smaller girl, “It’s what I deserve.”

“Like HELL it is!” Serene stared at Leona with shock, it was near unheard of for the girl to yell and swear, “You are too DAMN selfish! And you think you can get out of it by SUICIDE!?!"

Serene just continued staring, “You are going to  _LIVE_ ,” Leona said as she grabbed the collar of the mage’s robe, “Live and apologize to EVERYONE for even attempting to TRY this STUPID THING!”

“And if I choose not to?”

Leona frowned, “Then Aura and I will go down into hell and drag you back by the  _hair_ ,” she said in a low voice, “And I don’t think we’ll be the only ones.”

Serene stared at her for a long moment, then slowly started to smile, “Alright,” she said quietly, “I promise to live.”

“ _GOOD_!”  


* * *

 

Mira frowned as she caught the scent of arcane and then the tell-tale pop of a portal opening in… of all places,  _her_  laboratory, where they were simply not allowed!

She ran into the room just as the sound of table cracking and vials smashing clanged through the hall and for a moment she was beyond angry.

Then she saw what caused the crash. 

Leona was barely able to stand, and Mira ran to her, half picking up, half dragging the girl from the shattered glass and splintered wood, “Go get Varo!" she snapped at Flare and then took the girl to a couch, "What happened…?”

“Found Serene, she sent me back,” the girl smiled as her eyes closed, “All good…”

_All was not good_! Mira wanted to scream at her, shake her awake and have her explain all the wounds and the state of her armor… _how did those slashes happen? That gash?_

_And why the hell could Serene never learn to AIM her portals!?!_

She chewed the inside of her cheek, and started working on cleaning the girl, carefully taking the pieces of armor that were left from her and performing basic first aid on the wounds that she could see.

Thankfully nothing seemed worse than a surface wound, none of the cuts and gashes were very deep… there was some bruising, but nothing too serious.

By the time Varotin would get in there, Mira would have Leona cleaned and dressed in a white nightgown and sleeping fitfully on the couch as she worked on a little plush elephant for the girl.  
  


* * *

 

  
Serene stepped out from her tent, wrapping her robes around her as she looked around the camp for a moment, then waved down the orc carrying the loaves of bread from the cooking pit to the rest of the camps.

“Any reports for me?” she asked the Shadow Hunter that followed the peon, who shook his head as he took a handful of loaves himself, “Good, I’ll get to work in a bit, my husband and I are still discussing a few plans.”

The troll laughed at that, “ _Discussin_ ’, sure. Take jor time, da Professor’s got a list of chores for us before you get in there anyways.”

Serene nodded and took her plate of loaves and a pannikin of butter, “Thank you,” she said breathlessly, “Make sure that everyone eats.” She winced as he left, that was a horrible order, then turned back to her tent with the breakfast.

“I’m probably not cut out for commanding,” she sighed, “And I think everyone heard us last night,” she placed the bread on the table and sat near the fire, setting a kettle on it as she took out her parchment and quill. 

Setting aside the notes for Mira from the Magistry meeting, she glanced over at the still sleeping Aura and smiled softly, reaching for a blank paper.

_Dearest._

She frowned and crossed that out.

_Moron_.

Pausing at that, she tapped her chin with the quill before chuckling and crossing that out as well.

_Aura,_

_This will probably be the only letter you see that I have not painstakingly erased all mistakes before giving it to you. I do this so that I can honestly tell you things that are difficult for me to say._

_Even so, there are things that must wait until I find the words to do so, that I will not discuss here. What I will, is this… I am glad that you and I reunited again last night, the last few months while you were at that meeting and the…_

Serene took a deep breath, nearly ready to strike something else out before she shook her head and continued writing.

_It has been hard for both of us, I imagine. I never thought that I would grow so dependent on the very thing that I hated. I knew that I would miss the connection that we had formed, I didn’t imagine that it would have been destroyed so utterly. And while I want it back… I want to be able to speak with you instead of taking the rather easy way of settling in your mind instead._

_Truth be told, I liked it there, escape or not. You were a comfort to me, and perhaps I used that a bit overmuch. Selfishly I assumed that I didn’t rely on that escape as much as I did. And now I find that I miss it. I miss being able to interrupt you with a single thought… but I look forward to rebuilding that bond, and this time honestly._

_I have once heard that a mark of a great couple is the ability to sit in absolute silence and be utterly comfortable with one another._

_Right now, I don’t want that, I want your voice. I want you to offer your ideals, listen to mine._

_I want to sit in your lap and read aloud with you, like we did when we started._

Serene paused, chewing her bottom lip as she did strike that out, her cheeks and ears bright red.

_Aura, we eloped… thinking that it would be enough. But now I am not sure. Yet, I know that I would remarry you in a heartbeat, even with the pain that has happened._

_Because the one thing that we did not change, was that connection we had made for ourselves._

She glanced over to him, then looked back down at her letter.

_I love you._

 


	11. Harsh Lesson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kit and Leona deal with the consequences of the adoption and what it did to Evirin.

**Harsh Lesson**

 

“Evie…”

Kit slumped down next to him and hugged her knees, “I’m… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…” she closed her eyes, “It’s my fault, Daddy sent me the letter before we went to Outland, but I thought that maybe I could talk him out of it, or that maybe we could show him wrong or…” she rubbed her eye, “I didn’t say anything because I was trying to fix it myself, and it wasn’t right, because I got angry at you for running away, but only because you did it without me.”

She glanced over at him, her ears drooping, “And I don’t have any right to be angry about that because I did the same thing, I left you out and we’re supposed to be working together on this.”

She took a deep breath, “We never talked about some things, Dalaran fucked us up a lot…you went through all that and I never said so much as I’m glad I have you. Glad that you came for me…” she chewed the inside of her cheek, “And sorry that I let it happen.”

Kit glanced at him once more, “Maybe we are a couple of idiot kids. Maybe I’m trying to rush things because I don’t want to lose you…” tears formed in her eyes, “But I can’t keep on acting like an idiot can I?”

She wiped her face, “Can you ever forgive me…?”

* * *

_He hates me…_

Leona hugged her knees as the thought hit her again, and fresh tears fell.  
She couldn’t explain why she left after all, anything she said had just made Evirin angrier. 

**_He never loved you anyway. Remember? He told Kit that a useless thing.._**.

_STOP IT!_

She covered her ears, angrily willing those voices away, that was a long time ago, and he had once, she and Kit were sisters, Evirin was…

_**He’s right… your ‘Papa’ isn’t going to keep you from us. Why not just go quietly, accept what you are.** _

_I won’t!_

**_Why…?_ **

She didn’t know how long it took for her to pick herself off of the floor and return from that cave to Azeroth, using the bloodstone that Mira had given her to return.

Leona didn’t bother her and Papa, she hadn’t even told them that she had gone. Instead she walked out to the training dummies.

It was hours before she stopped, and then only because someone had hugged her from behind. She dropped her swords then, not even caring about the destruction that she caused to the field, and just buried her head into Papa’s chest as the tears and pain erupted again.

_Evirin hates me… he’ll never forgive me for leaving.._.

**_I destroyed him._ **

* * *

_Teacher Cero,_

_It has been some time since I have written you, and I have many things to ask and state, much more than I can discuss in the short meetings that we have.  
I wonder sometimes if I am a worthy student for you, there are many things that I am still learning, and I many times feel as if I have fallen far too short of your expectations._

_The first item to report is that Varotin and I are doing well, he is planning on taking Leona and myself on a holiday. As my attempt at a “Family Vacation” failed rather terribly, the puppy I had summoned for Leona ended up jumping into one of the lava pits in Frostfire… though he did seem much happier there. And then there was the issue that happened with the orcs and the wolves and…_

_Perhaps it is better to not dwell on such things._

_I have discovered that I lack housekeeping skills. Are there any particular lessons that you have to assist me in that regard? Luna has helped me to make the blood cake for Teacher Theravir, and Leona has figured a way for us to make chocolate… but it is difficult, I do not understand cooking. And my skills in cleaning only seem to apply to my laboratory and my tailoring._

_My research on the role of “mother” is an interesting one. However, I feel rather attached and protective of Leona, and that is a start it seems, but I have the same feelings towards Serene and Aura._

_Does that mean that all three are my children? And then what of Taladren? Though he is being cared for by another, I am still strongly attached towards him in the same way._

_Leona and Varotin seem to have a good relationship, and while I sometimes feel left out of such things, I stop those feelings and replace them with a bit of happiness for both. That I find is actually easy._

_I have found a sword on a research trip to Mount Hyjal. I had hoped to gain some blood from the wardens there, they were strangely hostile when I had asked though. I hope that the next one I meet will be nicer in that regard. It is a strange weapon, almost completely on fire, but I feel that perhaps I can learn easily with it and then I can join Varotin and Leona in practice._

_Flare seems to think that this is a bad idea._

_I met with Vel yesterday, but this you saw, and she and I had a good talk with one another. She seems a little off herself, but I am not sure what this means, because if Vel is not herself, then who could she be? And she is still my friend, and she still had good advice… so it is confusing. But I could not shake the feeling that something is wrong with her._

_I suppose now I should put in the bad things that have happened since we last met, since I have put the good things first._

_Serene has lost her children. The labor came on unexpectedly… I think, the book might have been wrong… and there had to be surgery. She has since healed physically, or as far as she has told me has healed, but I have noticed that she is becoming more distant and aggressive. The same behavior has happened once before, and I wonder if this pain is similar to that. I do not know what to do for her, but it seems that Leona and Aura are once again, helping her through the pain._

_Aura has gone to report to his family and has since abandoned his birthright._

_Leona has been melancholy, and though she will not tell me why, I can guess that it has to do with the one that Kit wishes to be bound to. Varotin seems to be handling this, which is good, because I am confused as to what to do. She will not speak to me about it and assures me that all is well. I am not sure why one would lie when one does want to resolve things._

_Serene informs me that I have neglected to give the last year’s worth of reports to Judessa and assures me that she has taken care of the breach of protocol. I am unsure as to how this mistake was made, but I have been informed that in the future if I make her transcribe something and do not promptly file it that I will be turned into a Popsicle._

_I am working on making comprehensive lesson plans for the next session for Serene and Aura and have made arrangements to get proper education for Leona._

_I hope to see you again soon and speak once more. I am finding that I miss you in many ways. I could use some of your words of wisdom at times, and though Varotin is wise, I feel that I sometimes and missing many things that I should understand._

_I have finally understood humor. Varotin taught me it in our first night._

_I await my next lesson._

_Your Student Mira._

****


	12. Love is in the Air

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gifts are made for loved ones.

**Love is In The Air**

 

“I’m fairly certain that this is wrong,” Mira muttered as she spooned the black sludge into the pan, “Leona, does this look like…”

The poor girl was holding her hands over her mouth, “It doesn’t even smell like chocolate,” she said quietly, her ears falling, “We can’t give Papa that.”

“Well, I have a back up plan, but it isn’t appropriate for you…” Mira turned bright red, “I know you have that necklace you made, but I was hoping we could give him something together… but all I can make is blood cake.”

“I can cook a little,” Leona suggested helpfully in agreement, “But…” she scrunched her nose in thought, “I haven’t tried candy yet. Just basic things like grilled fish over a campfire.”

Both sighed in defeat.

Then Leona gasped, her ears perking up as she ran to get out the pot and started melting the chocolates again, “But we saw what happens when I…” Mira started as she watched the girl start working.

“It’s not chocolate Mama! It’s  _blood_!” she said quickly, “Blood of…” she paused a moment, “Blood of the ferocious Cuddle Monster that has the power to make people blush and…” she flailed in her mind trying to think of the logic behind this crazy plan, “We need to examine it! It’s not cooking, it’s an  _experiment_!”

Mira stared at her for a moment, then slowly smiled, “I need you to split the subject into three vials!” she said as she took a pair of tongs and the molds, “We need to see the effects of cream and nuts!”

“Not to mention the magical effects on calming and making someone happy,” Leona giggled as Mira took over the melting, helping her to keep the temperature even and to add the ingredients.

It wasn’t perfect, but they had a batch that they made together to give to Varotin for Love is In The Air. 

And really, Mira was fairly certain that he would have eaten the sludge… but was glad he didn’t have to.  
  


* * *

  
Leona reached out her hand and picked up the first stone on her table, smiling as she rolled it in her hand and then took out her tools and started to work, placing the finished piece on the table next to her after an hour or so of shaping.

She was taking her time today, these were gifts that she was putting a great deal of thought into before even beginning, the stones had to feel just right.

She had even put the bandages over her good eye so that she wouldn’t cheat. This all had to be done exactly perfectly by touch or it was all a waste.

It was almost dark outside when she finished, and she did move her bandages then, taking the small boxes she had put to the side out and then little notecards for each one.

The first, for Mr. Evos, a little jade bird, and she was confused for a moment as she looked at it, wondering why she had shaped that of all things. It felt right, and so it got carefully wrapped and addressed.

The second was for Uncle Terry and Uncle Lyon, a little ruby bat carrying a rose in his mouth for each of them, and she smiled as she placed both in their packages.

Then for Velerodra, a sapphire snake, for Mr. Claud, a small citrine shovel, for Mr. Hershel, a peridot skull. 

Mr. Zandrae, Mr. Tyan, and Mr. Aza each got a crown with a sword and wings made out of rose quartz.

The General, she paused as she picked it up, wondering why she made such a simple thing for him, a heart, made of pyrite.

Serene and Aura both received a book made of lapis lazuli. For Aerie and for Taladren, she made a garnet feather.

Mr. Cele got a little mug made out of a ruby.

Then she took a deep breath, taking out Judessa’s amethyst lilies, placing them carefully in the box that she put the aquamarine quill for Fever.

Kit was next, getting a set of wings made out of rose quartz, and she stared at the carved feathers for a long moment before putting in the second set that she had made for Evirin.

Finally, she was down to the last collection of gifts. For Papa, there was a dragon holding a set of twin swords that she had made out of obsidian. She smiled as she touched it, then moved it to the side, that wouldn’t be sent. Neither would the little rose made of the same stone that she had made for Mama.

The last one, she paused for a moment, her cheeks burning red as she picked up the emerald claymore she had made for Mr. Cyril.

As a necklace, it was a little bigger than the rest, save for Papa’s… and for a moment, she contemplated not giving it.

But, then he would wonder why he didn’t get a present, and it was foolish to be afraid of rejection. 

She hoped he liked it as she signed his card the exact same as she signed the others, “ _With Love, Leona_.”  
  


* * *

Mira tied the last ribbon to her dress and examined herself in the mirror, “A little more leg…” she mused as she took the shears and cut a line, “I hate to use such good fabric, but I did promise he could rip it.”

She placed her hands on her hips and bent forward, “Not showing enough,” she said as she stood back up and cut a deeper scoop neck, “Now to reinforce the seams and it’ll be ready,” she said as she took it off and carefully placed it on her dressmaker’s mannequin.

Not bad… though it was more than a little showy for her tastes. 

“Varotin would rip it along here…” she tapped her chin with the shears, “And possibly along the chest, I could make the neckline deeper, corset the front…”

The lacing would make it a challenge, she smirked, “Straps along the side, no easy tearing there. A little reinforcing lace here and here…”

Oh he could rip this dress alright, but she was going to make  _damn_  sure it was worth the effort. 

"Alright then,” she placed the shears down and sat down at her desk, taking out a few notes, “That’s nearly done, now to finish up my actual work.”

Sometime later Serene opened the door, and seeing her teacher naked, drinking blood red wine, and plotting various samples of arcane rich specimens, closed it right back up, not wanting to even know.  
  


* * *

Mira sighed as she stretched and took her notes from her bag, setting them into small piles as she reached in to grab her quill and ink.

“I didn’t do that good a job if you’re going to work now,” Varotin yawned as he rolled to lie on his side and watched her work, “Unless you’re designing that lacey bit with the straps.”

She smiled, “No, I’m working on the designs for that cave laboratory you promised me in the jungle while you and Leona fight gorillas and go cheer at the Arena.”

“You’re cheering at the Arena too,” he reminded her, then kissed her shoulders and pulled her away from the notes, “Just put a table in there and then put the vials on it, doesn’t need to be fancy.”

“Just for that I’m going to draw blood exclusively from you for three weeks,” she gave the barest pretense of a struggle, “I keep holding out for some break through in that arcane affinity project.”

“You love your experiments more than me,” he mock-accused her, “You’re not even doing the fun one any more.”

“I couldn’t perform ethical observations,” she explained, “There is a questionnaire that I’ll pass out once Teacher gives me permission. Besides,” she made a futile attempt to reach for her notes, “There wasn’t just the laboratory… I was working on lesson plans. We have to make proper observations around the world, and I know Aura can get me literature on all the different cultures we might encounter. I hardly think gorilla fighting is the only thing we need to have Leona do out there.”

“Sleep now, planning later,” he rolled with her away from the notes and books, managing to catch the blanket along the way, “Wai… are those two coming?”

“Er… no,” she finally gave up and curled into him, “I’ll be leaving them in charge of the experiments at home and on the field while we go away. I do have to make some lessons for them as well…” she yawned, “I’m not as worried about that, they end up doing a good bit of self-study. I have to go by the Academy and pick up a few mathematics and reading primers for Leona.”

“Later,” he poked her cheek, “Now isn’t this better than going to that bad place.”

“It is,” she agreed, “Promise I won’t do anything so foolish again.”

“Good,” he kissed her forehead, “Now about that lacey strapy thing… You said I could tear it _again_?"


	13. Life Without Pain or Lonliness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life goes on, but now what has happened...

**Life Without Pain or Lonliness**

Araidne carefully tended to the wounds of the young draenei girl, not seeming to notice that her patient was a spirit.

The Sin'dorei woman with her sighed, this was the norm for her companion it seemed, and she wondered if maybe she should have joined with the Sunsworn instead.

But when they met, Aeda had seen something in the young priestess that made her stay and watch over her.

It had been weeks since they came to Auchidon during the wake of the Exarch’s betrayal. During that time, Araidne had been healing nearly non-stop.

But she was not healing the living. She was speaking with the dead, somehow recalling their souls before the Legion stole them away. 

Aeda frowned, it was making the girl a larger target for the Master of that group, and in the back of her mind, she could hear the whispers commanding his troops to find her.

_What a strange Light she has…_

_How is a Sin'dorei able to perform works like a Soulbinder? And yet she does not work in Shadow._

Behind Araidne, a small ghost of a wolf pup barked, and she smiled and stood, giving the girl a last pat on the head before she watched her walk off… Aeda couldn’t see where she went, only that the child disappeared.

The priestess bent down to scratch behind the puppy’s ears and smiled at Aeda, standing as she took out her writing board, “We will be going to Shadowmoon soon.”

“About time,” Aeda snorted after she read, “Let’s take the fight to them! We can…” she paused as Araidne shook her head and wrote again.

“We need to gather information. A friend of mine is coming here soon,” she blushed, then added, “I hope. We have to find out who is the traitor in the Light, the one that is working with the Legion.”

“Wasn’t that the Exarch?” Aeda asked then blinked as Araidne shook her head again, “Someone more powerful?”

“One that is within it. One blinded by it’s radiance." 

Aeda frowned at the words written down on the board then shrugged, "Too much for me, just point me at what needs to be destroyed,” she stood, “I’ll stick with you kid. You made sure I could report to Lady Liadrin at least, and you need me a lot more than she does.”

Araidne smiled sadly, then bent down to pick up the ghost pup and go to rest for a small bit before her services were needed by the spirits again.  


* * *

 

  
“Leona, what are you doing?”

The red head looked over her shoulder and smiled at Serene, “Mama said I could paint it whatever I wanted to. So I thought I’d do everyone I love.”

Serene glanced at the girl covered in paint then chewed the inside of her cheek as she looked at the mural, “It’s  _not_  what she mea… are those cat ears on Zandrae?”

Leona giggled, “I thought it was cute, I put a crown on Mr. Cyril too, cause he likes to act like a prince, so here he can be,” she glanced back at Serene, then chewed her bottom lip, “Did you find anything?”

“No, but I’m still…” Serene pointed to the picture of one man grabbing another’s arm, “You gave Theravir  _bat wings_?!?”

“Just little ones, he likes bats,” Leona said as she grabbed more paint.  
Serene frowned, staring at the other people on the wall, “Aura and I are faceless… because you couldn’t decide which personalty to put there?” the girl nodded, “And the blank space around us…”

“I look forward for meeting them,” Leona continued to draw with the brush.

The older girl glanced above the picture of her and Aura at the set of wings there, then shook her head and looked to see who else was there, Evosral next to Cyril with a pair of crow wings, she assumed for the same reason as Terry’s bat wings, next to them Mira and Varo with little flames around them in hearts, next to that Kit and Evirin, a fox on her shoulder and more wings, “You have an issue with this…”

“I like letting them fly,” was the quiet answer, and Serene sighed, then chewed the inside of her cheek.

“Who is that on the end there,” she said pointing to the kaldorei druid next to a black dragon.

“Mr. Anlen and Grandfather.”

Serene looked at Leona, who was painting on Judessa and Fever, “They’re dead… why add them?”

“Because they died for me,” Leona glanced over to the two, “Because I still love them too.”

Serene crossed her arms, shaking her head, “You haven’t even drawn them… Leona, why do this?”

The small girl looked up at her, “Because I  _want_  to. This way, when I feel myself start to get angry or lost… I can come in here, and sit right there,” she pointed, “And then I can see everyone I love, and I can remember that I don’t have to be someone lonely and hateful, I can choose a different way,” she scrunched her nose, “It’s hard… but,” she glanced to Anlen and the elderly drake, “They… they died to show me that. They died trying to protect everyone, and they could have run, they were strong enough to have gotten away… Mr. Anlen shouldn’t have even been there. So, I have to,” she looked at Serene, “I have to  _try_ , right?”

Serene stared at her for a long moment, then bent and grabbed a paintbrush, “I am not painting phoenix wings on Kit.”

“That’s alright,” Leona smiled, “But I think that I’ll give Jude a crown too"  


* * *

 

Kit settled on her stomach, “Come here little guy,” she whispered, smiling at the wolf puppy running around with his brothers and sisters and looked through the viewfinder on her camera, “That’s it, just like that…”

*click*

“Beautiful,” she smiled, “Oh Jude is gonna love these when I develop them. Well, probably these more than the other ones I took,” she moved to sit and take a few other pictures, “Probably wouldn’t enjoy the ones of the Iron Siegeworks all that much. And I plain won’t show her the pictures I took of Evie and Tara…”

The roll of film was finished and she smiled, “It’s nice to find something that I’m actually good at though. I was worried that I never would find a place in Daddy’s organization.”

She stood, wiping off her leggings and grinning at the wolves that barked at her, “I’ll come back and play again later,” she promised the puppies, “Promise.”

There was a noise behind her and she turned to see one of Dungar, “Ah, little wolf sister,” he said as he saw her, “Playing with the pack again?”

“Just taking a few pictures of Shivertail,” she grinned, “Tara finished delivering the goods?" 

"Thank you for hunting them, the war has made some things scarce,” he ruffled her hair, “You’re more orc than elf it seems.”

“Nah,” she glanced down, “Just how I was raised, we all had to take an apprenticeship that year before the Cata…” she paused, realizing that he would know nothing about that, “I dabbled in skinning and leatherworking really, I got sent off to work in a mine-field soon after that. I just know a few things.”

He nodded, “If you ever want to explore those more, I know that there are several orcs looking for an apprentice here and over by Stonefang.”

Kit paused, “I… thank you… but,” she glanced down at her camera, “I already took an apprenticeship. And even though I’m not really skilled at it or anything, I want to keep trying,” she smiled sadly, “Are Shivertail and his brothers going to be alright?”

“The rest of the pack will help them,” Dungar said, “And where they can’t, we can pick up the pieces. It is what family does.”

“Even if it’s a family that’s broken, it can still be put back together,” Kit chewed the inside of her cheek, “Growing up in the orphanage, I was bullied. I was smaller than the orcs there, and only had one real friend. But after leaving it, I’ve run into some of them, and we got along really well. I guess we were bound by growing up there.”

“Sounds like there was one meeting that brought you sadness,” he said quietly

“That one happened when I worked at the mine field. When the new warchief got into power, he said that the old law that said we had to go into trades and earn our living that way was foolish in a time of war, and he called us all back to the orphanage…” she frowned at the memory, “Zobu didn’t come, he had already been taken away altogether by his master, but I and the others were lined up and,” she rubbed the back of her shoulder at the memory, still feeling the burn of the brand there, “we were inducted into their army…” she frowned, “And then sent to where we were told we were needed. It was during that work that I was in the mine field, I was light enough and quick enough to get away from them before they exploded…”

“One of the others wasn’t,” Dungar guessed.

“He was barely a year older than me,” her voice broke, “They sent him down to set up a weapon at the bottom of the ravine and…” she took a deep breath, “He didn’t let me do it for him, and he died… all because he stepped in the wrong place. All because he was looking for a home, and thought that they cared.”

“Is this the same Hellscream that took over the Iron Horde,” he asked and she nodded, “I see why you came across the portal then.”

“Nah, not really,” she looked behind her, seeing that down in the village Tara was still speaking with a group of Frostwolves, “I came because my family did. Because I want to help them.”

“Well,” Dungar smiled as he ruffled her hair again, “Little Wolf Sister, you have a family here as well. Remember that.”

“You just like me cause I play with the pups.”

“Maybe, maybe we judge your worth by how you treat our wolves. It still does not change that we call you sister." 

Kit watched him leave, and hugged her camera as she looked down to wave at the ones in the garrison, then glanced down at Shivertail and bent down to scratch behind his ears, "Well, it’s nice being wanted, isn’t it?”

* * *

  
Serene checked herself in the mirror, placing one hand on her hips as she frowned and adjusted her glasses with her other, “Well, at least my clothing won’t snag on anything…”

“I think you look pretty,” Leona said from where she was laying on the bed, one side of her bandages pushed up, and next to her the little blue whelpling squeaked in agreement. “So where are you and Aura going to go?”

“Not sure yet, and I want to get the store open first so that we’re established but…” Serene crossed her arms and turned to the two, “I think we’ll go search for the odd book. I noticed that there are a few glaring omissions in his collection, I think first we’ll complete that and…”

“You’re going on an adventure for books?” Leona asked, the barest edge of disappointment in her voice, “I suppose it’s not as dangerous as some of Kit’s.”

“Depends on the book,” Serene said, then grabbed a few scrolls and sat next to her, “For instance, this one is in the ruins of Uldum, the Ramakhan book of the Dead…” she unrolled the first, “Believed to be encased in solid gold no less, but it details all sorts of rituals and traditions of that race. And neither the Reliquary nor the Explorer’s League discovered it’s location in their search for other artifacts. Then there’s this one,” she unrolled another, “One of the few written documents that the Kaldorei have on their druidic beliefs, normally that’s passed down through oral tradition, and it supposedly includes the dealings they have with the green dragons, including detailed forays into the Emerald Dream,” she looked at Leona, “Just because it’s a book doesn’t mean that it’s easy to get to. Both of these are thought to be lost, they’ve been so well hidden. I may not try going after the lost library of the Highborne, but there are some that are far more accessible, even if it will be an adventure getting there.”

Leona smiled, “I’m just glad that you’re going. You haven’t been doing very well,” she scratched the whelpling behind her horns, “I can watch the store when you’re gone! Daddy just has practice in the morning and evening, so it’s no problem. I can make some of the stone animals for you too!”

“I’ll also ask Mr. Zandrae if any of his want to work elsewhere for a time,” Serene ruffled Leona’s hair, “That way it won’t be on you alone. Besides, we haven’t opened the store yet, I need to work out a few more things to get the books stocked, and Aura is working on the toys to sell.”

“Can I go on the next adventure then? After Mr. Cyril is alright?”

Serene smiled, “It’s a promise. We’ll go after a book you want then.”

“Maybe something bigger? Or some stones?”  
  


* * *

 

“Alright Tal, just pull this one…”

The sky rumbled and Arymia glanced up, pulling her golden blonde hair back as she stared at the sudden rain storm, then chewed her bottom lip and looked to the toddler with her that was working hard on pulling up the weed, 

"Taladren, let’s go inside,” she said, trying to not let her voice falter, “I… I need to ask Lady Jadesword and Dun…”

Thunder interrupted her and she frowned, rushing the small boy into the house where Lady Jadesword was already fixing soup for the other children on the farm, “Sit down Taladren,” the Pandaren woman said quietly, “It is nothing more than a storm.”

Arymia watched him go off to sit between Litsu’s twin sons, and glanced back outside, holding her hands up to her ears to hear the voices in the wind.

“Aerie, the elements say that it will pass in a few hours, we can get back to work then,” Dunath said from the corner where the orc was eating his lunch, “There is nothing to worry…” he blinked as she ran outside, “Aerie!”

She ran, not caring that her feet and arms were bare, there was a voice in the wind, one that the shaman in training had not heard, and that meant only one thing.

It was meant for her alone.

The rain pelted down on her as she reached the side of the cliff, and she looked up, nodding at the promise she only heard, to meet at the top. 

The storm had yet to stop when she finally made it, dirt caked beneath her fingers, her sundress torn, and her form shivering.

Before her was a phoenix, full grown and glowing like the sun, “You are not like Luna and the others,” she whispered, “You are pure…”

“As are you,” he said, then his form shimmered to that of a Sin'dorei with golden blond hair, wearing the robes of a Magister, “Where has she gone sister?”

“You look like the prince that you once lost brother,” she whispered, her voice growing lighter, “Are you really so…”

“My lady has died once when I could have prevented it,” he whispered, “Sister, if you know, tell me so that I can arrange her rescue.”

Arymia paused, glancing to his face, “You have changed,” she smiled sadly, “I… I hope that it is not because you are fragmented now, that this is who you have decided to be.”

“I prefer being a Feather of A'lar… what you said is a fear of mine,” he took a breath, “Sister… I can remember our flight across both the continents, remember the Highbourne and the druid that followed her, our creation… yet, until after the Prince’s death, I have never feared that we were out of touch with the forces of life and death. For a time, I dreaded life, wanting nothing more than to join those mortals in sleep.”

“To sleep and to dream, the gift that we were never allowed to have,” she sat down on a stone across from him, “Are we really so different from our parents that we cannot see the significance?”

“Our prince was the first that taught us the pain of failure,” he glanced to her, “I resemble him for much the same reason that you resemble a small child.”

“The beauty of rebirth is that we learn from our mistakes,” she smiled sadly, “What have you learned Brother?”

“Where has she gone Sister? Who lied to send her there?”

“Your daughter is still there,” she closed her eyes, “Intertwined with the soul of the one that found your fragment, she still shines. Both will be lost to shadows, but… like one of your other children, it is not a lost of Light, it is an acceptance of Stars. She is no longer afraid of the dark… those she needs to guide are trapped in it, so she must go there, despite the lie that sent her.”

“She will remain a Spirit Healer, even in her new life,” he whispered, “Sister, what else do you see? What enemy will they face in going after her?”

“There are two, one blinded by their own shine, the other finding the first entirely too easy. The Traitor was not intentional, he believes, he does not realize that his actions are leading to their destruction, that they have called too much attention to themselves…” she paused, “There is something in the Crypt, protected by the Spirits… she has it now, both want it. It must fall to neither, or there will be no escape.”

Her eyes opened again, “Go back to being the child Sister,” he said quietly, “Go back to the peace she had wanted, watch the children there…”

“Return to his side Brother, protect your children there, protect the ones that Ladnis and Raine love,” she smiled and stood, “We will see each other again.”

“But not until our hatching,” he said sadly, then bent over and kissed her forehead, and turned, changing into phoenix in mid-step before flying away.

“Aerie!” came a call, and Arymia turned to the cliff side as a green hand slammed down on the edge, pulling up Dunath, “Aerie… are…” he panted and bent to his knees.

“Look,” she said quietly, “The storm is fading…”


	14. Life With No Regrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not knowing Raine is missing, life still goes on...

**Life Without Regrets**

 

Mira yawned as she ascended the stairway to her room, promising herself yet again that she wouldn’t pull another late night, no matter how close she was to a break-through.

She’d need new blood before she did any more work on that project anyways. 

Yawning once more, she opened the door to her room and smiled softly at seeing Varotin sleeping with Leona curled next to him, her hand still on one of her books. Quietly, she placed a marker in it and put it closed on the nightstand and tucked both in, then went to change into her nightgown.

Mira slipped into bed with them, staring at both for a long moment.

_“Relationships need both working together.”_

The words from earlier that Serene said came back to her and she frowned, remembering all the times that Varotin helped her and Leona. But not once had she ever really helped him.

_“Have you ever even asked him?”_

She chewed her bottom lip, had she been selfish not to pry? She knew that whatever was in his past hurt him… but he knew her pains and insecurities, protected her from them the best he could.

Shouldn’t she do the same? 

Cero chose him to be bound to her for a reason… what if part of that reason was because Varotin needed help too? 

Mira sighed wearily, too tired to think on it much further, mentally promising herself that she’d ask him, first thing…

She reached over and took his hand as she drifted off to sleep.

 

* * *

 

  
“Just breathe in that fresh mountain air!” Varotin said happily, and Leona nodded, not wanting to point out that they seemed to be in the middle of the ocean.

There were probably mountains below them somewhere anyways, and the rowing was somewhat relaxing. Even if she couldn’t help in her current state.

The whelpling sighed and started to cover her face with her wing when Varotin picked her up, “Cheer up! Camping is supposed to be fun! Besides, you should never be embarrassed about who you are!” he hugged her, “And that is my cute daughter Leona!”

“But I… can’t…” she started then frowned, her voice was coming out in meeps and squeaks, and what little she WAS saying was in draconic, “Papa, what about…”

“It doesn’t matter!” He said happily, “You can and you just need a little self confidence!” he nodded, “And this will help, we’ll be one with nature!” he looked around, “Now to find a good place to camp for tonight…”

Leona just stared at him in surprise, “You can understand me…?”

“Oh yeah, my brother and I…” he frowned for half a second and his voice trailed off, “Oh look! The perfect camping spot!” he said excitedly as he pointed towards an island, “See!?”  
  


* * *

 

“Isn’t it a little early for drinking?”

Lucierin glared up at the white-haired mage that asked that and pointed at the seat, “Beat me at cards and I’ll go home.”

Serene sighed and sat down, ordering coffee from the waitress as she did so and crossed her arms as she looked at Lucierin, “What is it this time?”

“The part where I can’t figure out how to help Vel, the part where I’m being best used as a damn babysitter, or the part where we still don’t know where my idiot sister is?” she took out a deck and started shuffling, “Not to mention that I’m lost without a purpose.”

“Then get one,” Serene snapped, reaching over and taking the bottle from the thief, “Ask the General for your job back, or hell, ask me for one. As for Vel, she’s a big girl.”

“Big girl that got herself into a demon cult.”

Serene sighed, “And drinking yourself into a coma helps…?”

“I figured I get enough alcohol poisoning, I’ll just go back into the egg for a few hundred years,” Lucierin snorted as she begun dealing, “With my luck maybe I can forget everything.”

Her companion frowned and picked up her cards, “Rebind yourself with Kit if you can’t handle the emotions on your own. Some of us have so much less to go on than stolen memories and are doing far better.”

“We’re  _all_  fucked up. my issues are well-known, Sunny has a crush on someone he ain't got the guts to admit it to, and Luna was never even given a chance, that bastard sealed up every bit of her brain that has any real knowledge of him,” she reached for her bottle, frowned when it wasn’t there and glared at Serene, “I mean, I got lucky. I just had years of abuse and neglect to go off of.”

“Not  _your_  abuse or neglect,” Serene reminded her, “Kit took that pain and did something with it.”

“Oh like  _you’re_  any better.”

“I admit my mistakes.”

That earned the mage a snort as Lucierin looked at her cards, discarding one and replacing it, “I won’t let another one get hurt.”

“That’s still her decision,” Serene discarded three and replaced them, “If you love her, then you have to respect that. And besides,” she frowned, “She’s wind. You can’t control that. I would think a  _bird_  would know that by now.”

Lucierin glared at her, “I win, you back the fuck away from her.”

That would be her decision as well, now wouldn’t it? I win, you at least come with me back to Mira’s house. We need a good thief. You need a job, I heard about how you resigned from the General’s service.”

Her mouth twitched as Serene adjusted her glasses and resumed her stare.

Lucierin placed her cards face down, the mage did the same.

“Please don’t let Leona see you this drunk,” Serene said as she stood, “I’d like at least one of us to have a good opinion of you still. For the rest, you have to reearn some favors and respect.”

She walked out at that, leaving Lucierin to stare at the four queens that had trumped her four tens.

Somewhere else, inside of a roaring fire, an egg glowing with purple light started to wobble.

* * *

The golden-silver haired priestess frowned, resting a hand on the wall next to her as she looked down the empty hall.

She was alone. Aeda had gone back to her post weeks ago, even before she had put up the shield, and even the Initiates that were mounting assault after assault against her had stopped coming.

“Are we safe yet?” a small voice asked, and Araidne looked behind her.

Not quite alone, she smiled at the ghostly Draenei girl, shaking her head sadly to answer the question.

“You are afraid.”

That came from another ghost, that of a young Sin'dorei paladin, one that scowled down the hall then turned back to her, “You have held here alone for so long. They cannot break through. No reason to fear.”

_“Did we lead them into a trap…?”_

The voice that time came from inside her own head, and she had a hard time recognizing it as such, not having clearly heard her own thoughts in so long, not having the time to listen to them.

She had been rushed since the Message came. Since her children had been threatened and she agreed to the Masters’ terms. Getting into Draenor was easy, just as easy was slipping to Talador with Lady Liadrin’s forces. The Soulbinders themselves had granted her access here, once they saw that the ghosts were speaking for her.

No… getting to this point was not the trouble.

It was staying at this point… and ensuring that the Masters did the same on the other side of her shields.

She had one brief moment of respite, one where she managed to tap out a message to the ones that gave her the communicator. Then, she had to run, and she had dropped it in the skirmish. 

Now there was no more running, she would have to hold here. There was no other choice.

Even if no help was coming.

Even if she had led them all to a trap of the Confessor’s.

She had to protect the Children here. To do any less would destroy herself and the ghosts that sought her protection.

A soft crying broke her out of her thoughts and she turned to see the ghosts surrounding the pale light that had drawn her here in the first place, what the Masters were after, what the Legion was after…

_“It’s alright.”_

Again, the voice was only in her mind, but they seemed to have heard her, moving to let her reach the small child cowering in between the shadows and the light.

_“We’ll protect you, it will be alright.”_


	15. A Coven of Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Masters of Light find persons of interest in the Crimson Wings. Betrayals are made and the battle begins.

**The Coven of Light**

“They’re gone,” came the palest whisper, “I cannot sense them at all.”

“Stay here, I’ll protect you,” answered a stronger voice, though still a whisper, “Don’t leave my side, I won’t let you be hurt.”

It was dark, very nearly the earliest parts of the morning. Surrounding the voices were the smells of burning and death, below them, the ground seem razed, as if nothing will ever grow there again.

Two girls sat in a tree, scared, ragged, but very much alive, holding each other for dear life and staring to watch for anything.

The dark haired one turned to the blonde, “We are alive. We have been blessed, if it weren’t for your gift…”

Her words were cut off suddenly by the smaller girl’s lips on hers, “We’re alive,” she said sobbing as she held onto her companion for dear life, “I…I do not understand how all of this happened, but we are alive…” she gasped and looked north, “T…the Sunwell…”

They sat in that tree until the sun rose, and then the day after that adn the day after that. Both holding each other and sobbing over the lost of their home.  
But… they were very much alive.  
  
 _Present day…_

“Sister…” the priestess moaned as she sat up, shivering as she tried to figure out where she was, “Sister… where are you…?”

Arms wrapped around her, “It’s alright,” the elder girl whispered, “We failed… the Light forsake us.”

The priestess burst into tears, sobbing into the dark haired paladin’s chest, “They lied to us, they had to have lied… he could not have been worthy in such a short time, he barely was able to stand with us…”

“It doesn’t matter,” she cupped her companion’s face, “We’re alive. Remember,” she paused, “Together, it doesn’t matter, so long as we’re together. The Light aban…”

“No, it  _hasn’t_ ,” the priestess said excitedly, “Don’t you see Sister, the Light led that man there, he led us to find that the Masters had lied, have been twisting the Light! We must…” she paused, taking a deep breath.

“Rest now,” the paladin said as she held her tightly, “We’re still weak… we will…” she chewed the inside of her cheek, “We will find a way. Together, we do this together…”

* * *

  
The tall woman walked through the halls of Auchidon, nodding her head at the Initiates that bowed towards her, making her way not to her office, but to a large room she had designated as her council chamber.

Already most of the ones she had called here were gathered, and beneath her cowl she smirked.

“I am glad that you heeded the call of the Light, our time is nearly finished here,” she walked around to the head of the table, and taking the seat to it’s immediate right, she reached her gloved hand for the reports placed there. 

“The Overseers report that the Hopefuls left are still holding out. Only thirteen succumbed to their doubts this week, the bodies have yet to be taken care of,” she nodded, “Good, their descent into shadows will remind the others what happens when your will fails. The Light will take their cleansed souls.”

She looked to the man wearing a cloak that sat across the table, a few chairs down from her, “Inquisitor, Are there any Hopefuls worthy of joining the Initiates?”

While he was preparing his answer she moved to the next report, “I see the Initiates are purifying themselves,” she looked up, frowning for a moment, then glared at the door as it opened, “Confessor Bloodreign, I am surprised that you are late,” she said as he made his way around the table and sat immediately across from her, “I was just asking the Inquisitor if there were any more to come into your fold. Have you prepared for the attack yet?”

She tapped her fingers on the table, still annoyed by the woman they had to fight. One insisting on being surrounded by ghosts and darkness instead of being bathed in the Light.

If that was the case, then she should have stayed where she was, that was the natural order of things. She had served the Light so well once… Confessor Hopesworn had her down as a candidate for the Masters, like Zandrae, she would have been offered enlightenment immediately.

But no, she was another heretic. Another lost in darkness. What made her dangerous was that the Light was still, for some unknown reason, overflowing in her, no doubt because of the artifact, and none of them could get through her shields.

She had a plan… oh  _yes_ , she had a plan.

“Judge,” she turned to the last person at the table, another hooded woman sitting at the very end, “Have you set the trap yet? Confessor Bloodreign must know when to send his Initiates in.”

Confessor Hopesworn gave a longing glance to the empty chair at the head of the table, “Soon,” she whispered, too low to be heard, “Soon we will purge the worlds of all their darkness. Your vision will be made to pass.”  
  


* * *

Lucierin frowned as she leaned against the branches of the tree, listening to the aftermath of the chaos she had caused that night.

First a fire at Zandrae’s, then the attack on Mira and eventual attack on Oliver and Serene when they came to help. And they all knew that she had done it, believed her declaration of going towards the Masters.

“Won’t be able to get close enough to kill him now,” she murmured, taking her communicator device off her ear and then crushing it in her hand, “Not so sure that I actually want to.”

She closed her eyes, “Now to find Vel, make sure that brat kept her end of the bargain." 

The dark phoenix that opened her eyes took to the sky, searching for a little bit of mist.

She would return for her punishment later. After she knew that her snake was safe and whole.

* * *

It was a warm night, probably not that unusual for Silvermoon in the Spring, but it the air seemed heavier than normal. Perhaps that was why the windows were opened.

Whatever the reason, it made no difference to the Master that stepped into the room on the third story of the Pyreanor residence. The Confessor had orders following the report of those that had witness the delicious burning.

Too bad that the woman that had caused it could not be found.

The boy was sleeping in the bed, fitfully dreaming of the Light, and the Master nearly let out his voice with religious ecstasy, he was so happy to see. This boy was truly blessed. No wonder the Confessor wanted him liberated from the Heretic.

And so, with great reverence, he picked him up and activated the summoning circle on his arm, a gift of the Light from the Confessor.

The boy would wake up the next morning to find himself being washed by no less than thirteen of the Muses, the Confessor came in to tell him that it was alright, he was safe now.

Soon, soon he would be like the other Enlightened. 

He watched with horror as she pointed up towards the ceiling of the room that he was in, and he saw the crystalline sculptures of those beings that gave everything they had just to be one with the Light.

“It is a glorious day, the Light has shown us a new Master!”

He wasn’t sure if the screaming of horror was outside his mind or inside it as he cringed back, and the Confessor turned, a low sigh of disappointment escaping her.

“But of course… the Heretic has not told you your true destiny, has he not?”

* * *

 

 

  
Serene winced as she woke up, then sat up, glancing over her body and then stood, looking for injuries.

Luckily, nothing seemed to be lasting, a minor burn here and there, a good deal of bruising. But all of it will heal within a week, two at the most.

Mira though…

She hiccuped, doing something she allowed herself only very rarely. She sobbed, hugging herself and letting the tears violently wreck her body, trying very hard not to see in her mind’s eye the still body of her teacher, the burns from the Light that brat priest had used.

She tried not to remember how Oliver was crushed, even though he shielded the best he could, how she could only carry one out.

It  _had_  to be Mira, she barely knew Oliver.

But she couldn’t forgive herself for leaving him, even if Dey had promised to bring him back.

Serene allowed herself only a few moments for her emotional display, then she started wiping the tears away, doing her best not to flinch as she touched some of her wounds.

There was a large burn on Mira’s face… five more that Serene could see on her chest and shoulders… they had ripped up the dress she had spent hours on just to channel Light directly into her body. 

They knew what it would do to her, it was torture. And Lucierin had taken her there, led Mira to that place, knowing what waited…

The air dropped several degrees as Serene smoothed her bun and straightened out her clothing, already plans of how the bird would pay forming in her mind.

Bad enough that Zandrae nearly lost his house last night, now his brother.

Serene nearly lost her calm again thinking on it.

First things first, find her teacher in this plain house, ensure that she was well and stable. Then, find Zandrae, give him the information she had gathered from the attack last night.  
  
And after that, she would hold Leona, keep her  _safe_. 

Serene closed her eyes, taking another deep breath.

She would kill Lucierin herself, and then freeze the phoenix egg so that it would never hatch again.

 

 

* * *

  
“Varo,” she murmured, reaching out in the darkness and grabbing hold of something warm, barely conscious of where she was or who she was, only that there was so much pain.  
  
Her mind flitted in and out, reaching across memories she didn’t know she had.  
“Seven, come and play with us!” girlish voices called to her, “Your father will be angry with you if he catches you with those books.”

“Come Seven, time to learn the arts,” another voice said, this one that of an elder woman, “Stand tall and proud. Our race is one of the Leaders,” a crack of a whip, “Avira, Bertana, Stop that useless giggling and set an example for your younger sister of darkness.”

“What do you want to know about them for? We’ll be destroying them all anyways?” something being taken from her, “Little Seven likes the mortals! What will her father do when he finds out!”

“Stand down demons,” growled a voice, “I’ve come to…”  
  
“What shall we do with him Avira?”  
  
“Too bad he’s so handsome, imagine, a hunter made it this far….” there was a pause, then the girl giggled, “Bertana, Little Seven doesn’t have a pet.”  
  
“Oh that is vicious! Won’t it make him….”  
  
“Exactly. Look Seven, it’s so easy… why don’t you finish this job? It is one of your lessons after all...”  
  
“Why are you crying?” that voice was familiar, it was Cero’s, “I didn’t know that your type could…” it turned soft as a hand wiped her eyes, “I won’t hurt you. I promise.”

Her body grew warmer as the memories turned more pleasant, into more familiar territory.

“You’ll be fine, it’ll be like going to sleep. But you won’t remember anything…”  
  
“It’s alright Master… I want to, besides, I’ll always follow you.”  
  
That was the last unknown memory, the ones that followed were ones that she had cherished, no matter the pain behind them. Slowly the pain subsided, she grew warmer, her breath steadied.

Her eyes opened to see Varotin looking back at her.  
  
Neither talked, the pain was still too great and their bodies were still too weak.   
  
But they were together at least.

They would worry about the details later.

* * *

“Papa! Mama!”

Leona ran into the room that they were in, her bandages off for once, her left eye wide with fear and worry as she went to her Papa’s side, seeing if she could get a response.

“They’ve been sleeping since this morning,” Serene said quietly from her place at the door, “I’ve given them a sedative to stop the pain.”

The small girl hiccuped, then buried her face in Varotin’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry I did the same for you last night,” the mage chewed her bottom lip, “I knew that you would have…” she shook her head, “The Sunbrand shop is in shambles but it’ll go on. Zandrae mentioned it wasn’t the first time they had an attack, it probably won’t be the last. Mira…”

“How did Papa get hurt?”

“Cero bound the two of them together,” Serene clenched her fists, “Something about how she was dying… she was, and that’s what saved her, it’s because of what she is… I never paid attention to the details. When they…” she took a deep breath, now was the time to stay calm, “When they tortured Mira, the bond between her and Varotin caused him to feel the same pain… most of it in fact, In a way it saved her life, he took a lot of it away from her.”

Leona glanced over to Mira, whose face and body were swaddled with bandages, then to Serene, “How do we heal her? If Light hurts her, then what do we use?”

“She’s a demon Lea. Normally they return to the Nether…”

“She’s  _not_  anymore,” Leona snapped, then turned back to her parents, “If we can’t heal her, then…”

“The Light is still burning her,” Serene agreed, her face pale, “Cero knows a way Lea. We can trust him, and if he doesn’t, Theravir might or even Judessa, we’ll find someone that can heal her.”

Leona slowly nodded, “What do I need to do?” she stood, wiping vainly at her eyes, “How can I help care for them?”

“Keep them warm, and I have some medicines here,” Serene led her away, chewing her inside cheek as she debated how much to tell Leona, “Don’t leave their side. Let me know on the communicators if there are any changes. And…”

“And?”

Serene brushed a few strands of hair out of Leona’s face, “And…” she debated briefly telling her of Lucierin’s betrayal, that Oliver had been taken, “And stay calm, remember what Varotin has been teaching you. Mira’s bandages need changing hourly, if the burns start bleeding again, let me know immediately…" 

Leona nodded, trying her best to keep the same level of calm as the elder girl.

"Varotin does have what looks like a few bites from some bears… luckily not very severe bites, more like…”

Leona giggled, “He said he was going to wrestle them,” she hiccuped again, the tears started up in mid laughter, “He must have blacked…”

“It’s alright Lea-doodle,” Serene said as she hugged the smaller girl, letting her cry and sob into her chest, “Papa and Mama are  _going to be alright_ , I  _promise_  you that.”

* * *

Mira had not waken up since yesterday morning when she opened her eyes briefly to see Varotin next to her. Part of that was due to the amount of pain she was in, part of that was due to Serene setting an ice crystal in both of their systems that induced sleep.

Leona had made sure that she and Varotin were comfortable, she came in every few moments to check on their breathing while Dey’s shivarra set their I.V. drip up… or rather replace the fluids once it was determined to, that was another thing that Serene had done before she left.

The small girl slept in between them that night, holding both of their hands, waking up the next morning feeling more drained from worry than anything else.

“Leona.”

She looked up to see Serene there, looking as if she hadn’t slept since Mira’s attack, “I…” the mage closed her eyes, tried one last time on the communicators for a healer that could help.

Ava had answered.

“She smells like Mama,” Leona said quietly, “If anyone knows, she might…”

Serene chewed the inside of her cheek, staring at the bandaged blood apprentice, knowing that beneath those bandages the Light was still burning her, that there would not be much time if…

She asked Ava to come, taking a chance, followed the woman’s instructions to clear anything fragile out of the way. Leona went downstairs to wait for her.

Somehow once the girl had gotten up, Varotin and Mira took each other’s hands again, and Serene left him there, even knowing that the reason he wouldn’t wake up is that Mira was using the bond to leech life from him.

All she could do was wait for Ava, and pray that this would work.  
  


* * *

Eilona frowned, the priestess sitting at the table with the radio, a gift from the rogue that had passed some days before.

How many people have died at the hands of the Masters?

How close were her and Laneara to becoming one of those tragic numbers?

“We have to go back,” she said quietly, then looked towards her companion, “We can save the others, we can show them that the Masters are wrong.”

She hugged herself, trying not to think of the horrors they had left behind, not to think of the daily attacks of the Legion. Some of those had been strange, she sensed a sudden darkness that hadn’t been there before, and then would sense the Legion coming.

Chewing her bottom lip, she took out a parchment, writing a letter to one she had heard on the communicators.

_Mr. Pyreanor,_

_I have heard of you from your brother, when he was healing us. I am saddened to hear that he has been captured by my former allegiances._

_I…I think that my sister and I can help. We can at least show you where the Hopefuls are fighting and the way to the Halls of the Initiates._

_Please let us do this, to atone to our crimes of zealousy._

_-E. Hearthsong._

 


	16. The Battle of Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The conflict with the Masters of Light continues and the battle concludes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another event I did.

**The Battle of Light**   
  


Mira frowned as she looked over Serene’s notes, “You incited Judessa last night?”

“I did  _not_  incite her,” the white-blonde mage snapped as she adjusted her glasses, “It’s not my fault that people take my hard work and just throw it away!”

“There is a chance that Vel’s reports went only to the General,” Mira glanced at her student, “And flanking? We discovered earlier that you have trouble in Talador.”

“I can’t just sit and do nothing,” Serene snapped, “They  _hurt_  you and they took…”

Mira nodded, looking over the notes Serene had made while her student rampaged on for a few more minutes on why the Masters should be taken down, then glanced next to her in bed where Leona was sleeping fitfully as she curled into Varotin.

He hadn’t woken up yet. And when Mira tried to reverse the siphon life spell she had accidentally used through their bond, his body had reacted…  _badly_.

“It hurts me, but it will cure him,” she said quietly.

“What was that?” Serene asked as she ceased her pacing.

“I want you to stay at the Garrison, help Judessa hold the defenses,” Mira turned back to her student, “You will not be joining the assault.”

“ ** _What?!?_** ”

“I will go,” Mira added before there was more argument, “Ava has healed me, I will be alright.”

“ _Bullshit_! You need to rest, they nearly killed you! Not to men…”

Serene’s voice stopped when Mira stood and sent a wave of energy, it was all the girl could do to keep from running away in horror.

“I am not the same person that was attacked,” Mira said quietly, as her student paled and nodded in agreement, “I will go. Theravir will need me there, and I need to capture some Light from these abusers. Varotin cannot heal with Ava’s technique.”

“B…” Serene attempted in vain to find her voice, “but… they…”

“They were fighting the Legion, they have every right to,” Mira said as she went to her closet and started preparing for the trip to Draenor, “However, they will soon find out that I am not of the Legion. And they will find out why it is that they fear,” she looked to Serene, “However, I will not let my student fight my battles for me or put herself in danger. I will tell Cero that I will fight with the main group while you bolster our defenses should they counterattack.”

Serene glanced to the bed where Leona and Varotin were still sleeping, “And what about them?”

Mira chewed the inside of her cheek, “I can think of no safer place than here. Cero will ensure me that much at least.” she smiled sadly, then glanced down at her messenger bag, filled with her notes for how to talk and act around others.

“We have work to do Serene. And not much time to do it in,” she said as she turned, walking into the next room and leaving the bag there on the floor.

* * *

Mira had been walking all night, kneeling at each Hopeful and using blue flames to engulf each one.

After the first hour, she had stopped looking at the faces.

They were children, all of them. Some barely older than Leona, none of them older than Aura… most were Serene’s age.

Part of her whispered that this was the natural order of things, the strong prey on the weak, there were no such thing as innocents.

That part of her she ignored. The last few years in Cero’s service had taught her so much more than the lessons her sisters had once taught her. He taught her compassion, encouraged her to think for herself, not follow orders from on high. His entire experiment that she had been a part of was to prove just that.

She may remember who she was,  _what_  she was.

But that did not make her the person that she was  _now_.

These children would not rot out here, she could do that much for them at least. She’d figure out how to prevent this from happening again.

And the three children under her protection would never have any reason to fear… not while she had something to do with it.

* * *

She quietly came back home late in the night, clutching the soul stone close to her to ensure that it was safe.

Araidne checked the crudely drawn map, then looked up at the small farm that had been set up in the southern part of the Eversong Woods, a modest cottage surrounded by orchard and gardens. A little curious in that the cottage was of the Pandaren architecture instead of the normal for Quel'thalas, but she preferred that, it was far more comfortable.

“They seem to have things well under control,” she said as she paused at the gate, “Perhaps I should have waited until morning to come back.”

That doubt was dispelled as she looked to the porch to see the four sitting there, sleeping as they waited.

Taladren opened his eyes first, rubbing them as he looked towards her, “M…mama…?” he asked sleepily, then the toddler was running, hands outstretched to her, “Mama!!”

Dunath was next, the orc youth standing up suddenly, knocking both the elf and pandaren girls that were leaning of him down, “Lady Raine…”

“She’s back?” Arymia rubbed her eyes as Araidne picked up Taladren, “It’s over?”

“We should begin cooking for the feast!” Litsu added, happily following the toddler, then was followed by her companions, “You will not be leaving us again!”

“N…no…” Araidne’s cheeks were flushed as all three embraced her, “I learned my lesson… I will stay here and grow the trees.”

“Or we’ll just all go with you next time!” Arymia smiled as she lead her into the house, “Is Dey…” Raine held up the soulstone and she smiled, “I will get the scotch then!”

* * *

Lucierin moved silently, flying through the night shadows, landing just before sunrise and finding her roost for the day.

It had been like this since her betrayal. She didn’t stay in once place, she flew with the winds, trying to escape what she knew that she would eventually have to face. The first few days she had tracked down Velerodra, and then was disgusted with herself for how easily she had been deceived.

How quickly she was willing to throw the others to the flames…

If she had stay bonded, would she had made the same decision?

She snorted at the idea, her bond with Kit had been severed long before she had cut the final threads. Her “sister” had her own life to live, making it quite clear that she didn’t need or want a weapon.

And all Lucierin had done since was prove just how dangerous a weapon could be when not in use.

Her borrowed memories were already fading, she wondered where exactly the line would be drawn. 

“Look at me, the perfect construct of the General’s,” she said as she stepped out of bird form onto the tree branch, “Guess I better go back and face my punishment while I still remember what the hell it’s for.”

A third time in her egg would give her a bit of time to think. Maybe she’ll become someone else’s weapon when she hatched from it’s ashes.

Maybe she’d be allowed to forget why she cared.


	17. Back to Normalcy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life goes on, even after conflict.

**Back to Normalcy**

 

“Oh no…” Mira chewed the inside of her cheek as she examined her arm, then hastily covered it up with the sleeve of her lab coat as Serene entered the laboratory, “Araidne is delivering medicine for Varotin today,” she said quietly as she wrote down the more recent effects from Ava’s healing.

“Good, Leona was moving his arms and legs to ensure that his muscles don’t go into entropy,” Serene took her white coat from the rack, “Are we continuing with the Inquisitor’s blood today?”

“I have a bit of personal business to attend to, you finish the observation on that sample and then start with the sample from the archer,” Mira stood, collecting her notebook and a few tools, “After that, you and Aura need to start the research on the artifact that was recovered, see why it was that they had wanted it so badly.”

“What artifact?” Serene asked with wide eyes, “There wasn’t one recovered.”

Mira looked up in shock, “After all that, it was left there…?” she said in wonderment then sighed, “I suppose then that you and Aura better investigate the area they were in, if you can get the artifact, do so. I want to know what this was all for after all.”

Serene nodded, “And what will you be examining today?”

“I need to talk with Cero on something,” Mira glanced down at her arm and then hid it behind her back, “Make sure that Leona gets some air today, she hasn’t left Varotin’s side all week.

* * *

 

Leona was up before the sun, despite the late hour going to sleep last night and ran first to her parents’ room to find out if Varotin was feeling better.

The door was locked, which she took as a good sign, and when she heard their whispered voices she went outside.

It had been nearly a week since her last training session, she would be in trouble if even Kit came around for a sparring match.  _If Papa found out…_

She gave a brief shudder then stretched, and taking a deep breath, she grinned, “Not quite flying, but it’s a good start." 

It had been a week, and at the end of the run, she was tired, her muscles screaming at her for the vacation, but that was just the first of it.  

_Waiting on Papa to wake up isn’t a good excuse. I should have been keeping at this._

The stances were easy to step back into, and once her muscles stopped being angry at her, they started  _remembering_.

The sun was well up before she ended her exercises, and she took another deep breath, "I wonder what Papa and Mama want for breakfast…”

Grinning once more, she started running. If she hurried, there wouldn’t be much of a line at the pastry shop in the Bazaar. Most of Silvermoon  _liked_ sleeping in on Saturdays.  
  
And maybe next week she and Varotin could go together.

* * *

“How bad is it?”

“Well,” Aura glanced into the bag, “I think she managed to actually not make something toxic this time… It’s blackened to a crisp, so more than likely she just cooked it until everything toxic would die,” he closed it up and looked to Serene, “What are we looking for exactly?”

She crossed her arms and looked around the destruction of the old haunt of the Light cult that had caused so much trouble the week before, “I’m not sure myself, but given the map,” she looked at the three passages and adjusted her glasses, “This way,” she said, taking the one in the center, “Mira figured everyone was relieved that it was over, since no one bothered to see what the hell the whole thing was about. A little idiotic…”

“It’s not safe to leave such powerful things lying about,” Aura agreed as he followed her.

“But understandable. You’d think there’d be a trail or something,” Serene frowned, reaching up to take a quill out of her bun, writing something in the air.  
The ice rune hung there for a moment then ran ahead as the mage crossed her arms again, “No traps at least, oh,” she glanced as section of wall started to glow a very pale blue, “That must be where the Confessor was hiding,” she stepped over to push on it, then glanced inside the small compartment, 

“Rather small, but…” she stepped inside, “There are still remnants of shields on here, no wonder she wasn’t detected.”

“Serene, shouldn’t we sense  _something_  by now?” Aura leaned on the wall across from her, “Either there isn’t anything here or…”

“The whole thing was for a piece of glass,” she snorted, “Come on, might as well see how pretty this trash is at least.”

The two walked in silence after that, until they came into the large room with the hole in the ceiling shining quietly on a pedestal with a pale prism seemingly made of amethyst.

“ _That_  was not in the reports,” Serene said as she glanced up and adjusted her glasses, “See the rocks down below, that was recent.”

Aura walked over to the pedestal, pulling out a large capsule and collected the prism, “There’s no magic in this, but there is a faint signature,” he said as he turned to her, “Someone made it?”

“It’s more plausible than all the fuss raised over nothing,” she sighed, “And what better distraction than what did happen? Aura, you saw yourself, the place is more than a ghost town now,” she shivered, glancing around her quickly, that part  _had_  been in the reports, “Let’s just get that back to Silvermoon and see if we can figure out who’s signature it is. And maybe what the original was for.”

She took her quill out again and started writing in the air, “And I promise not to dump us in the fountain this time.”


	18. Wandering Faeries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meanwhile Luna hatches with no memories and wanders off...

**Wandering Faeries**

 

The young woman was amazed at everything. How new this all seemed, how friendly everyone was. She had discovered that the source of the voices when she woke up was a small device that had been hanging in her ear and she played with it a bit after finding it.

It was a shame that she accidentally broke it, those people had said that they were her friends, and she had a brother too apparently. How wonderful!

For a second she looked up at the ceiling, what a funny lonely house, nothing was in there at all except for one painting, but then she smiled as she noticed the holes in the ceiling. 

“Whoever owns this can see the stars,” she said cheerfully, “I hope they are…” she frowned, there was a tug there that she didn’t recognize, a melancholy void that made her eyes water up.

“He has to look at stars, it’s too lonely otherwise,” she whispered.

After a moment she stood, sorrowful as it was, she felt that no one was really welcome in this most private of places, and she went to the door, finding it easy to exit, but undetectable once she got outside the house.

“Oh that is fun!” she said as she poked the wall, “I wonder what other amusements my Lonely Half is capable of!”

It lost it’s appeal after a few moments, and she wandered away, looking in wonderment around the city and the people.

A few hours later, she yawned, and then curled onto a bench, “What a wonderful time to be waking up,” she murmured, “I hope that I remember it all when I awaken tomorrow.”

 

* * *

 

She had been wandering aimlessly for so long, just watching the world around her. Aimlessly she sat down in the ruins of an old city and started to twist flowers and herbs that she found into little crowns.

A small sound made her look up, and she smiled at the little girl that stood there, “Would you like one?” she asked smiling, “Here…” she started anew, softly singing a lullaby of sorts as she worked.

“You lost pinkie?” another voice said and she glanced up to see the Forsaken that had asked it, “This ain’t a place for knife ears.”

“Oh?” she smiled, “The children were just all gathered around here, I thought I’d make them a present.”

He frowned, or she thought it was a frown, his lower jaw was missing, she felt frowned at though, and he glanced around the courtyard.

It was as empty as the rest of the ruins of Lordaeron were, above ground at least, “What are you babbling on about, there haven’t been children here since…”

“Haven’t been…” her face fell, “You don’t see them…” she put a hand aside her mouth and leaned forward, whispering to the girl, “Don’t mind that. Some people aren’t just ready to see.”

“Stop that!” he snapped, “Who are you anyways?”

She paused, tapping her finger to her chin, “I… am not sure. I know my name is Luna, the people on the device in my ear called me that. But I broke it. And since I don’t remember where I belong, I’ve been looking for a new place. The Children called me here, something about what I did for the ones of Quel'thalas… but I don’t think that I did anything special.”

Luna paused, smiling again, “Oh no, I’m not lonely. Don’t worry. I have a brother named Sunny! And…” she closed her eyes, “There are more I think. I will meet them again soon.”

The Forsaken started to back away, not sure what to do with this strange idiot, “Be careful,” he spat, “These are the Dark Lady’s realms. If she catches you trespass…”

“The Sin'dorei and the Forsaken have an Alliance, do they not?” said a childish yet ethereal voice and he paled, turning to see the Val'kyr that for some reason Luna could not see, “This ambassador does no harm, leave her be.”

“Ye…yes ma'am…” he hurried away, not bothering to look back.

Ereisa sighed and turned towards Luna, wondering once more if she had truly forgotten everything she had before, that the making of flower crowns and soothing of the long dead children here were just merely forces of habit for the phoenix-girl.

Luna assured the ghosts that she wasn’t sad or lonely as she made them more crowns and the unborn Val'kyr shook her head.

“ _Liar…_ ” she whispered.

* * *

“Welcome to Lordaeron.”

The pale elf sighed, and she wondered once again why she came. There was nothing for her here in the Glades, other than annoyance at the fact that not much has changed.

“How is Northrend?” the Forsaken that greeted her from the zeppelin asked, “It has been awhile since someone came from the Ebon Blade.”

“it was decided that I might want to see if I had any family,” she said quietly, “I finished my work there, and now I came. There is no real reason to celebrate.”  
  
“Well, if you decide that the living are too much,” the man laughed, “The Dark Lady welcomes all…”

“I need to check for records in Silvermoon first,” she smiled, “And see how things have changed. The last time I was here…”

Her voice trailed off, there was a soft singing and the Forsaken sighed, “Her again…” he muttered.

“Who?”

He pointed towards the covered bridge, “Some crazy girl. Claims she sees children or some nonsense. We’ve been leaving her mostly alone because a Val'kyr is with her…” he sighed, “The Dark Lady demands we bring her body as soon as she dies. The problem is she’s been avoiding all the accidents we’ve arranged.”

He ignored the look of disgust she gave him at that, “Personally, I’d rather she leave the Glades altogether. She gives me the willies.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” the elf promised, then started towards the bridge.

* * *

Luna frowned as she went through the bag, “These are mine…?” she asked as she looked at all the things.

“It came in the mail for you earlier,” the death knight that had appointed her the girl’s guardian said quietly, pausing in her practice to look at her, “It is more than what were left of my previous effects.”

Luna smiled at Annessa, “It’s interesting, but I don’t remember anything…” she paused, “But let’s see if I can…”

She glanced through the things, setting some dried flowers aside to use later, and then added some scrolls and inks to that pile, then paused, picking up a red origami bird.

She looked at it for a long time, tilting it and frowning until she smiled, “Oh! This was…” she paused, it was almost there…

A small sound caused her to look towards one of the Children and she blinked, “My friend?” she whispered, and listened more, “Oh…”

She took a quill and unfolded the bird, staring at the shimmering blank square, then nodded and began to write.

“ _Dear friend…_

_I think so at least, the Children claim that you are, but I… sadly do not remember anything from before my last hatching. For that reason, I do apologize if you had been waiting for some time for my words._

_I was sick for a little bit as well, a lovely man with no skin gave me some nice tea and it disagreed with me, but I am better now._

_I rather like going through the world with fresh eyes, but I feel guilt, there are so many people saddened by my loss of memories. I… am trying my best, but it feels that they are gone for good. Therefore, I will make new memories, and try my best to be the one that they do remember._

_There are some sparks, one happened when I was holding the bird I’m writing on, another was when I met the Children… but they are very faint. It’s like chasing a sunbeam._

_I hope that I have not hurt you, and I hope that you are still a friend…_

_Luna (at least I hope so, it really is a lovely name to have)_ ”

She stared as the words shimmered for a moment then seem to absorb into the bird, “Oh how clever!” she said as it folded itself back up and chirped, flying back into a pocket of her bag.

Luna smiled, she hoped that whoever was on the other end would reply soon.  
  


* * *

“Where are we going today Nessa?” Luna said cheerfully, her arms full of flowers as she followed the death knight along the road.

“I need to report,” Annessa muttered, frowning as she looked over the letters, then scowled as yet another flower crown was placed on her bluish-white ponytail, “The Necromancers do a monthly check on all knights of the Ebon Blade, and they wanted to know if they could look at you as well.”

The taller woman beamed, “I’ll go get more flowers!” she said happily as she bounced off the road and into the meadow, “White and purple! I think those will work best.”

Annessa stared after her a moment, then turned to the Child Val'kyr that was Luna’s constant companion, “And  _you_  follow her around… why?”

“She tried to lead me home once. Not my fault that some people can’t go into the Sunwell,” Eriesa shrugged, “Besides, someone’s got to keep an eye on her.”

The pale woman winced at that bit of truth then crossed her arms, “Wonder if I can teach her some fighting skills. I can see if I can get a friend of mine in…”

“She can already kill you with her mind… you want to put a  _sword_  in that child’s hands?”

Annessa looked at the her, “Do you remember why I became aware of the both of you? The Forsaken want her, I’m guessing there are others that might know of her…” she frowned, thinking for a second, “her…  _talents_. You said she had siblings. All of them the same?”

“Blood-phoenix… yes,” Ereisa glared at the death knight, “The only ability she’s shown since her last hatching was the ability to talk to the dead.”

She shook her head, “Not the  _only_. Remember how she accidentally burnt me when we first met? Luna can take care of herself…” she turned to stare at the girl that was running barefoot as she picked flowers, “… _eventually_.”


	19. Scout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Also meanwhile, Kit is working at Judessa's Garrison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I almost completely succeeded in retconning Taranth out. Now he was just a guy at Jude's garrison at least instead of a strange misplaced phoenix I had no idea what I was doing with.

**Scout**

 

_“Hey Evie, it’s the daily news from Kit!”_

She was a bit happier today, and sat crosslegged on the ledge over Axefall as she fiddled with her communicator some,  _“You are getting these right? Cause otherwise, you’ll have a whole lotta messages to go through, and well… not all of them are good, there are more than a few that I’m outright yelling or crying at you. Don’t hold it against me, ‘kay? I just really miss you and I’m still a bit of a wreck.”_

The girl frowned, taking off her leather helm for a moment and then running her hands through her hair, shaking off the sweat and then picked the microphone for the device back up,  _“I’ve been pretty busy. Jude wants me to double check all her maps, which sort of happened when I noticed that they weren’t very detailed. No worries, I got a curfew and everything, signed a thousand promises to her that I’d be back at the garrison promptly by midnight, or she’ll skin me alive and feed me to the whelplings. And I’m not sure,”_  she glanced behind her and waved at the shadows beneath the trees,  _“I’m pretty sure she has me being watched by something. Never really caught 'em though. I guess I should ask her about it just in case, but it’s pretty consistent.”_

_“Guess you might want to hear about what goofy things I did lately. Well, I met with Cele at the bar… no drinking, promise! But we had some nice dinner, and then Uncle brought Cyril… his new student? Think he came by the Garrison once,”_  she scrunched her nose in thought,  _“Well, he’s bad off with this curse thing, and his boyfriend… not that either of them admitted it, he’s pretty worried about the whole thing. And it doesn’t help that Cy’s trying to play it off as nothing wrong. I tried to get the two of them to talk to each other.”_

She winced as she rubbed her chest,  _“Kinda got blasted for it by a drunk Evos too. My fault, but he hit my weak spot. I think I am going to bite the arrow and go to that doctor Jude told me about. So if this is the last message, that’s why.”_

Kit smiled sadly, lowering the communication device for a second as she drew up a knee and rested her head on it,  _“Evie… the sunset’s really pretty here in the Spires. Maybe we can have our wedding here? I want it to be outside…”_ she chewed the inside of her cheek,  _“Come home. Please? I know that whatever you’re doing is important… but, I want to be a part of it.”_

She shook her head,  _“Not that it matters, I mean, I’m doing important work too. I just think that it’d be a lot of fun if we did it together. Like right now, we could be watching the sunset and calling each other names. And you can help me with that training that Jude and I were talking about… which I WON’T tell you anymore about UNTIL you get back, so there.”_

She stuck out her tongue then giggled,  _“Alright Ass, I gotta get back to work, I love you and I’ll try to catch you tomorrow. You better be listening to these.”_

Kit thumbed the controls for the device, putting it back on the regular frequency, then looked back at the sky, “Stop crying Brat,” she whispered to herself as she wiped at her eyes.  
  


* * *

“Morning Jude! I’m ready for my lessons!” Kit said happily as she came into the mage’s office, then clasped her hands behind her back and looked around, “Hey…” she gently walked over to the hammock and tapped the woman on the shoulder, “Hey are you alright?”  
  
“Mmmrrgh,” Judessa wearily opened one eye, “Is the sun even up yet?”

“Uh…” Kit rubbed the back of her head, “Well no… but morning training is a goo…” she closed her mouth as a book was shoved in her face, “Oh?”

“Doing lessons new way. Magic book,” Judessa yawned and never once lifted her head off her pillow, “You go in it, learn a few things,” she rolled over, “Strategy more than anything. It punishes you for bad decisions. Make sure you take it slow, don’t get too involved.”  
  
She pulled her blanket over her head and Fever yawned and gave Kit a glare before scuttling to get back to sleep, and then a gentle arcane wind “pushed” the monk out of the room, making a very clear clicking sound of the lock when she got past the door.  
  
Kit barely noticed, “Ma…magic BOOK?!?” she squealed, holding it in front of her and grinning like the cat that caught the canary, “This is… THE COOLEST THING EVER!” she was practically flying back to the barracks, jumping into her corner of the barracks and grabbing her glasses before running off to one of her secret places in the garrison.

Good, no one had disturbed her blankets or apples at the spot near the back of the mine, and she happily settled into the hammock and perched her glasses on her nose.  
  
“ _Fire Emblem: Awakening._..” she read the title, then opened it, “Sounds promising, I wonder what it…” there was a golden glow as she got to the first page, reflected by her eyes glowing very briefly the same golden color, “Oh… OH…”  
  
She grinned, “THIS IS TOTALLY AWESOME!!!” she said before she lapsed into complete silence, completely absorbed in the book, occasionally turning a page.   
  
Meanwhile, Judessa and Fever were enjoying the first morning of several that they could actually sleep in, and the entire garrison was enjoying the first of several Kit-Free days.

* * *

 

“Happy Midsummer’s!” Kit exclaimed as she came back to the garrison, giving a small sigh of disappointment as she saw that there were no decorations up.

No matter, she had gotten plenty while she was still in Azeroth and happily spent the rest of the morning placing them up. “I’ll have to get a bonfire going,” she said happily, “Then see if I can get the stuff for those s'morcs. Oh and that flaming drink…” she scrunched her nose, “Well, I shouldn’t have any of that, knocks me flat out, but I wonder if anyone else likes them.”  
  
She climbed up to the ledge overlooking the mines and grinned, “Gotta say, Jude’s bound to be happy with how festive everything looks! Just because we’re in the middle of a war doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun.”  
  
She yawned and laid back, looking up at the sky, “I wonder if Evie’ll come back before it’s over. I’d love if we could actually…” she blinked, “It’s almost a year since I proposed to him,” she sat up and hugged her knees, “The fireworks at Booty Bay…” she smiled sadly at the memory.  
  
“Yeah, I think I will do something really big here,” she said quietly, “Fireworks might not be the best of ideas, but…” she grinned, “That doesn’t mean we can’t do other things. And when Evie gets back, then he and I can make some s'morcs in front of the bonfire.”  
  
He’d be back before the festival’s end, she just knew it.  
  
Because if not… then…

Kit clenched her fists, “If he’s not back by then, then I’m going to go looking. I…I don’t care what Jude says, he’s never been gone this long before!”

* * *

“Kaelona.”

Kit looked up and glared at Taranth, “STOP calling me that,” she ignored him until she had finished checking the charter to the cargo, then took off her glasses and turned to him, placing a hand on her hip, “Whaddya want anyways?”

“You think it wise to go on these supply missions yourself?”

She took a deep breath, then walked over next to him and yanked his ponytail of golden-blond hair, “C'mon,” she said as she walked up to the deck of the ship, “Exactly what do you expect me to do, just sit tight at the garrison and hang out at the docks?” she glared back at him, “You’d follow someone that leads like that?”

“Kae…” she frowned and he paused, “Sunsoul. What happened today…”

“Are you  _still_  upset about that?” they took the last step and she grinned, “Come on, it’s a  _brilliant_  plan!”

He glanced over at the workers on the deck tying the down the bombs and siege engines, “I’m amazed that it went so well,” he said dryly, “You realize that enraging them will…”

“That’s just the first part,” she hit his back, “The scout reports said that there are two places about to hit Jude’s with some heavy stuff right?”

“A fact that doesn’t seem to worry you at all,” he said frowning, “But yes, the Iron Siegeworks and the Iron Docks both…”

“And both are pretty formidable, right?” she thumbed at the weapons, “We hit ‘em pretty hard with this raid, but that was a pretty small target, how about we use these things against them?”

“Three tanks and twenty bombs…?” he sighed heavily, “And with the Siegeworks very nice and secure from any naval attacks…”

“And the Docks are pretty far away by sea, let Jude take care of Siegeworks, and we lead the Docks on a merry chase into a trap.”

He stared at her, “What trap?”

She pointed starboard and he blinked at the large circling some ways off, “Kaelona…”

“I know, right?” she climbed up onto the mast, “I count about forty of them, so you know there’s a mess right below that I can’t see. And according to the charts, there are exactly two ways to get going here, through that strait and risk a high chance of becoming lunch, or go around and lose two days. The Docks usually goes around, but…”

“You’re going to force them in,” he realized, “How?”

“By fighting like a brat,” she stuck out her tongue, “Throwing a major tantrum and forcing their attention.”

“But how are we going to…” he gave a worried glance to the sharks, “If they’re chasing us, that means we go through there too!”

“According to the  _charts_ , there are only two ways through,” she pointed.

Taranth climbed up to look at what she was gesturing too and squinted his eyes, “I… how’d you even know to look for that?” his grin was beginning to match hers, “It’s  _small_.”

“So’s the ship,” she smiled, “And it’ll be much lighter once we unload the stuff.”

“Keep one of the cannons at least, just in case someone catches on. And we still need to keep the giant sharks off of us.”

“That’s the hard part,” she chewed the inside of her cheek, “Those magic lessons have to pay off sometime right?”

He reached into his hair and took out a golden feather, “Use this… what’s your plan?”

“There’s a couple of shamans in the crew, I get with them and we’re going to add a little storm to this and slip away before the sharks realize we’re there and  _they_  realize the sharks are ready to gobble them up. We’d still have to sink one of their ships to create blood in the water.”

“And while they fight off the mayhem and destruction, we merrily sail back with the majority of the supplies we stole from them and still a good few weapons. So long as the Mage-Commander can hold off the force from the Siegeworks… not that much to ask, considering she has some heavy hitters there herself,” He glanced up, “Milady, I am impressed.”

“Maybe you were right,” she admitted sheepishly as she stuck the feather behind her ear, “Growing up ain’t so bad.”

* * *

 

“For someone that didn’t want people to worry about what others think, you are spending a lot of time on your own criticisms.”

Kit glanced over at Taranth, smiling at the blond then turning back to her reflection in the mirror, taking another bit of balm from the jar and rubbing it on one of her scars, “Hey, get the back will ya? I can’t reach it.”

“There a reason you made Lucierin give these back?” he asked as he sat behind her and took the jar from her hands, “You wouldn’t have to take so much time.”

“I earned these scars,” Kit glanced back, “Every last one… even if it didn’t seem like it at the time.”

He noddded and the two sat in silence for a long moment as he rubbed the balm onto her back.

“Am I too young Tara?”

“I’m not the one to ask Milady,” he said quietly, “As a phoenix, I’m far younger, even with the shared memories that my kind have of A'lar.”

“I mean, I get it… without that Nightmare, I’m only turning fifteen in August, and even with the added years there…” she paused for a moment, counting on her fingers, “It’s anywhere between eight and twenty… I have no idea how long I was really in there other than Alandrine took what childhoood I had.”

“Which explains so much,” Taranth chuckled, then looked over her shoulder at her reflection, “You’re truly worried over what bigoted people said?”

“I’m worried over what they didn’t say. Or didn’t hear me say.”

“You have been lucky in some respects, you don’t remember the Quel'thalas that was when you were born, the ones dying and starving of mana addiction and withdrawals. The illness that ran rampant or the fear that the Scourge would return,” he traced a long scar running across her lower back, “Or that you have no knowledge of the troll wars. The memories carried to me from there…”

“I missed all of that,” she agreed, “I missed the stuff that happened during the Cataclysm outside of Azshara too. Doesn’t make what I did go through any less important…”

“No it doesn’t.”

She glanced back at him, “Tara?”

He traced the branding on her left shoulder-blade, “You may only have one person you may never forgive, but you’ve seen war Kit. You’ve seen the worst of war and the worst of people. Not just once, but many times. Your entire short life has been nothing but pain and suffering, and as for the Nightmare…” he frowned, “There are horrors there that you still face, aren’t there? It still follows you… you’ll  _never_ escape it.”

She chewed her bottom lip and looked down, blinking when he kissed her forehead.

“And yet, you refuse to give in to it,” he whispered, “And for that reason alone, I think everyone on this ship that call you captain will follow you for eternity.” He stood up, “Now come on, Aesin and Vaal are going to get worried if you stay in here all day.”

She nodded, throwing a shirt on, “Good point, besides, I gotta earn my title as ‘Captain Brat’ right?”

“Milady, may I advice against filling the cannons with paint filled boar’s bladders? The ships of the Iron Horde already do not appreciate our presence as it is.”  
  


* * *

_“You shouldn’t be here!”_  
  
Kit fell out of her hammock as she harshly woke up, her form shaking at the wisps of the dream still fogging her mind.  
  
“They’re getting worse.”  
  
She glanced to the desk set up in her captain’s quarters to stare at Taranth, “It doesn’t bother me,” she said as she stood, inwardly wincing at the doubt she heard in her voice, “It’s not like I remember anything after I wake up.”  
  
“I forget, did she actually succeed in summoning that demon or did you lot get out of that other timeline before she made it that far?”  
  
Kit chewed her bottom lip, sharply turning away and going to change her clothing, “Does it matter? Alandrine’s gone, and Daddy would have taken care of that. Why are you in here?”

He shrugged, “Came to tell you that we’re landing back at the Garrison by noon or so. You’ll be back home.”

“Maybe there’s news from Evie…” Kit said quietly.

“You were screaming.”

She looked back at him, “It’s just a bad dream.”  
  
“Bad dreams don’t draw blood,” he pointed, “You didn’t have those scratches before going to sleep. Kit… how did you escape that Nightmare she made the first time?”

The girl blinked, then looked down at her arm, raw red lines criss-crossing from beneath her wrist to her elbow. She scrunched her nose in thought, “I… we got out…”

“...and you don't remember who,” he shook his head, “And that's not the least bit suspicious to you?”

“Someone… Luce and I had help, there was someone that we fought with. And the first time everyone fought Alandrine, someone grabbed her and pulled her into that Nightmare when she got the portal open.”  
  
Taranth sighed, “You were all played for fools then, time already showed as much. Whoever had her could have kept her there. That was her plan.”  
  
“Doesn’t matter, she’s defeated now for good. She’s  _dead_.”  
  
He slowly nodded, staring at her, “I’m leaving Kaelona.”  
  
Kit frowned, “What do you mean? Tara, I need you  _here_.”  
  
“You don’t. This last voyage proved that much,” he stood and cupped her cheeks, “But there is something you need  _of_  me. And Grandfather’s memories tell me exactly where to go to find out.”

“Can it wait until Evie gets back?”  
  
“No, something’s on the horizon,” he smiled, “Besides. You have enough duties as a captain and dragon rider…”

“In training still. Not like I have a drake to…”

He kissed the top of her head, “Stop interrupting. As I said, you have enough duties. Especially since you have that summon to the Peak.”  
  
“But I…”  
  
“You’re going to accept, the monks there are just as much your family as the Wings are. Don’t even pretend like you’re not going to go and tell Jude as soon as you make your report. You have enough on your plate Kaelona. And where I’m going to go, you can’t follow.”  
  
Her lower lip trembled, “So I have to be alone again?”  
  
“Evirin’s coming back,” he smiled, “And you’re never alone. You got the Wings and the Peak. You haven’t been alone since you left Azshara. Before that, you had Zobu at the orphanage. And I’ll return, I  _promise_. But what I have to do…” he took a deep breath, “Kaelona, there’s a chance…”

“Don’t tell me. Just make it back,” she hastily wiped her eyes, “Some Captain I make.”  
  
“The best kind, Captain Brat,” he kissed her forehead again, “But… tell Judessa and Cero about those dreams. Let them know it’s getting worse.”

“It’s  _not_ …”  
  
“It is. And it’s why I’m leaving,” he grinned, “That and you're waiting for someone else… but don’t you need him back before you start planning that wedding again?”  
  
“Shut-up.”


	20. Lost Sisters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mira remembers more of her life from the Legion and reaches out to one of her younger sisters. Meanwhile, she finds that Raine has a secret...

**Lost Sister**

 

Mira frowned as she paced her laboratory, ignoring the mess that her students have left for now, after all they had handled the situation, and it was not an immediate concern.

Her conversation with Ava and her proteges  _was_.

Now there were things rearing in her memory that she couldn’t quite remember but at the same time, could not rightly forget.

_Sisters…_

She just had to remember one, the youngest of them. The voice and image came easily, a smaller girl that ran after her, “ _Seven, please be careful! Don’t let them destroy you_!”

Mira sighed, sitting down on one of the few chairs still together in her room, taking out notes and writing anything she could think of. Mannerisms, description, hobbies…

It was quickly becoming a long list of things, but still lacking the most important piece.

“Mira, you should go to bed.”

She started at the voice, turning to see Serene… who had obviously been in there for hours cleaning the mess that had been made by her and Aura, “When…”

“Do you want me to organize these notes?” the student picked up the first, “I can transcribe them for you, ‘Would more than likely prefer a young teenager, slightly overweight, red hair reaching her shoulders…’ Mira… do I need to worry?”

“I can’t remember her name,” she whispered, and Serene dropped the papers and her broom to immediately catch her teacher as she stood and faltered, sobbing, “I promised to protect her and I can’t remember her!”

“Mira! It…” Serene frowned as a loud cry interrupted her and sighed in annoyance, “GO TO BED! You need sleep!” she started to push her teacher off and towards the door, “I’ll organize your notes and we’ll figure it out together, but you, bed,  _now_!”

Mira stumbled up the stairs, finally falling into bed, dreaming of pain and darkness until she was found and brought out of it.

“ ** _You told me that we weren’t going to worry about them, that your precious Master told you to never think of them.._**.” claws scratched her as the cat pushed down her shoulder, “ ** _How quickly we forget_**.”

She winced, there was an old scar there, something that she had forgotten about, something that begged to be remember…

“No,” she whispered, then pushed him away, “No… I will only take this one thing then I will forget them, she will forget them.”

“ ** _You think it’s actually possible, they will not forget and they are coming_**.”

Mira frowned, and Flare purred as he licked his paw, “ ** _See how foolish you are? You have time to prepare, less if you take one that hasn’t gone through the Ritual of Passage. Your Master won’t protect you from them, and he will fall to their power_**.”

“Give me her name,” she said through gritted teeth, “I know you remember.”

“ ** _You admit that you are frightened? Terrified of what they will do to you for betraying them? Foolish for hiding behind a mortal man? Even more so for doing his biding without a bond no longer holding you_**?”

“I will admit that I am terrified but no more,” she turned to look at the cat, “But not of my Sisters. They I will be able to fight, even if the battle will take all that I have. I am terrified by what was in the dark screams of my nightmares.”

He stared at her for a long moment then shrugged, “ ** _That will do I suppose._** ” he hopped off of the bed, “ ** _You should rest, more than just your sisters are coming after all._** ”

She stared at him, “Her  _name_  Flare.”

“ ** _Naminea_**.”

* * *

  
“I can’t believe you took Taladren’s blood,” Serene sighed as she looked into the microscope.

“He wanted to see what I did, and he was a  _very_  big boy,” Mira smiled, “Besides, this way I can screen to ensure that he’s nice and healthy, it’s a normal routine check, not the usual pints that we tend to take.”

“If you didn’t give him a stick of peppermint, I would have been angry at you,” her student smiled, then adjusted her glasses, “Alright, now to compare this to his parents and check for abnormalities.” she looked down at the chart, “I’m amazed you have these samples…”

“Master Cero is  _very_  thorough when it comes to this sort of thing,” Mira said as Serene took the vials from the refrigerating unit, “There are very few that he does not have.”

The next few minutes passed in silence for the two before Serene gasped.

“There’s a problem,” she said as she stood, “The paternal blood doesn’t match this sample.”

Mira stared at her for a minute, “Er…  _what_?”

“This is  _Raine’s_  son? The Raine that meeps and starts glowing red at the slightest  _hint_  of anything…” Serene adjusted her glasses as she headed back to the storage unit, “Where’s Cero’s sample.”  
  
“At the back, next to Luna’s,” Mira tapped her chin, “It is possible… she did leave him her son, and Taladren looks like…”

“Not him either.”

Mira paused. giving a slight breath of relief, “Then who the hell…” and turned to Serene, “Give me Taladren’s sample,” she said quickly, “You finish up your report, this will take a minute…”

She closed her eyes as Serene handed her the vial, lifting it to her lips and giving it the barest of tastes, just enough to home in on the properties, the little bits deep in that made the little boy who he was.

She could find the sample more easily now, even without knowing for certain who it could be… she would be drawn to it.

Yet… an hour later, and still no luck.

For  _once_  Cero didn’t have a sample of blood of someone.

And Mira had  _no clue_  where to continue looking.

But dammit all, she wasn’t going to give up until she did find him!

* * *

 

“But then why not ask the General to summon her?” Serene whispered as she glanced into the kitchen then back to Mira, “Why give that control to someone you barely know?”

Her teacher frowned, “She is… still very loyal to those that I am running from. And he is still a high priority target,” she dipped her quill and started to write, “As worried as I am over her, I do not trust her when it comes to him.”

Serene crossed her arms, stepping over to Mira and snatching the quill from her as she sat down at the table, “You should have at least told him.”

“When? When he is taking care of matters of the utmost importance with his Lieutenants, when he has a few spare moments to relax?” she shook her head, “Serene, I may be foolish and unsure of how things work, but I will not overburden him. Ava has this one under her thumb.”

“And we can trust  _her_?”

“No,” Mira took back her quill, “But we can be assured that she will not let my younger sister be harmed. And she will also do something that my elder sisters will not, she will nurture Naminea’s abilities and talents.”

Serene’s eyes narrowed, “This isn’t about rescuing her at all. This is about you trying to stack the deck when they do come for you.”

Her teacher paused, then placed down the quill and folded her hands on the table, taking a moment before she turned to the pale mage, “No. That is a worry of mine, but that is not the reason I had her come here. If possible, I would want Nami kept far away from the battle that is coming,” she chewed the inside of her cheek, “I would want you and Aura to take Leona far away from it as well. When that day comes, you both take her and leave.”

“You wo…” Mira held up a hand and Serene closed her mouth.

“That day may not come for many years, and I may change my mind on that,” she said quietly, “I hope that it never comes. None of us… despite egos to the contrary can stand against those two. Even if you and Aura were at your strongest, and even if Leona were grown and at hers… it would not make a difference. When that day comes, I will pay the price for my disobedience and hope that in doing so I give enough of a distraction for Cero and Varotin to utilize the opening that it will create. It is the only chance that we have.”

“Does Varo…” Mira held her hand up again.

“I trust Cero with my death. That he will make it a strategic assault. It is the last and only selfish thing that I will ask of him. As for Varo…” Mira paused, gently touching her lips for a moment, “I will make the life with him count. And yes,” she glanced at Serene, “I have told him all that I told you.”

“Does he  _understand_  it?” she snapped, “Does he even agree?”

Mira didn’t answer and her student bristled, “ _Of course he doesn’t_!” she stood, slamming her hands into the table, “Cause if you think that idiot’s going to just let you die, then you haven’t been paying enough attention to all the crap he’s been through already for you! For that matter, you think that Aura and I are just going to agree to walking away? That Leona will?!?”

She took out a piece of paper and threw it at Mira, “You deal with that crap with us… with all of us! Spend time with your sister, but dammit,  _we’re_  your family now! We’re in this together!”

Serene stomped out, pausing at the door, “Aura and I are going on vacation, and I don’t  _care_  that it’s fucking bad timing! You better have your head straight when we get back!”

* * *

“Oh Sister, it was wonderful,” the plump elf with her red hair tied in two curling pig tails sighed as she took a sip of tea, “And so much power… I feel completely renewed!”

Mira frowned, stirring her tea and staring at the leaves for a long moment before looking up, “Naminea… I feel that perhaps you’re making a mistake. I asked him to bring you here so that you won’t…”

“I am perfectly safe with him,” her sister assured her, “And now I have the abilities to stand up to our Sisters when they come, and I’ll only become stronger,” the younger woman looked at her sister, “Seven, why are you holding yourself back? He chose you long ago after all, you could easily crush them.”

Mira shook her head, “It’s not that simple Naminea. I am…” she frowned, “I do not remember, or do I desire to remember, much of the life you and I shared before we came here.”

“But you are favored by the Master, you could be so…” Naminea blushed, then looked down, “Was it really that bad? That you started to hate us so much?”

“I do not hate you, or even the elder ones,” Mira said quietly, “I think of my time in that place with immense sadness, I have been so fulfilled in my life here, despite my not understanding many things.”

“You want to protect these mortals, then form a Contract with someone with Power, begin to rebuild what you once were!” Naminea chewed her bottom lip, “Sister, the mortal that you have bonded with is  _nothing_.”

“If you really think that, then you have not learned very much coming here,” Mira said sadly as she took a sip of her tea.

“I know that your other Contract would grant you the ability to overthrow our Sisters, why did you not…?”

Mira set down her tea, “Nami, how long were you just waiting to be saved?” she said quietly, “Waiting for the end to come, for that last test to be failed and your soul absorbed into theirs like it happened with eight of our other sisters? Do you truly think that we can face such vileness with just a little  _power_?” she shook her head, “No, we must understand what it is that they do not first. The bonds of family.”

“You and I have that already…”

“If we truly did, you would not be trying to convince me to forsake my own bonds here to further your agenda.”

Naminea turned bright red, “I… I  _wasn’t_ …”

“You were. I’m very glad that you are enjoying yourself Sister, but,” Mira set down the cup, “Understand what our sisters do not. It is the key to defeating them.” she stood, “Thank you for inviting me over Naminea, it was nice to see you again. Congratulations on your Ritual of Passage.”

“Seven…”

“I return to my family. My first Contract was to understand the mortals, to find out why they fight so hard against inevitable destruction,” Mira smiled, “I am learning still. But I will stand by them against even you if it comes to that. Please do not force me to make that choice.”

* * *

“Let me get this straight,” Serene said as she took a sip of her tea, “You made a bet with your sister.”

Mira nodded as she played with her cookie, crumbling it up and watching it fall into her cup.  
  
“A bet about whether or not she had a strong enough relationship that she could do without sex… and you placed yourself and Varotin as the control,” The white haired mage set down her drink and adjusted her glasses to stare at her teacher.  
  
“To be fair, I’m still worried about that…”

“Two succubi made a bet on who could hold out the longest.”

Mira sheepishly looked up at the glare, “Er…”  
  
“And the terms were to give up your laboratory and research for a month if you lost?”  
  
The dark haired woman blushed, and both sat in silence for a few moments as Serene stared her down.  
  
“I’m to understand that I’m in charge of your work until the month has passed?”  
  
“You’re taking this awfully well.”  
  
“Well with this,” Serene picked up her tea again, “I’d say it is safe to say that you and I have passed the teacher student relationship to become near equals. Are there any projects in particular I should pay attention to?”  
  
Mira whimpered, “I… er… no, the only major one I have now, besides the effects of blood from the pale orcs, is the search for Taladren’s paternal match.”  
  
“Alright then, I have most of the notes on both of those as it is,” Serene smirked, “And no messenger bag allowed?”

“No notes or experiments for a month,” she said crestfallen, “Not even a simple glance to ensure that I greet someone properly.”  
  
“Very well then,” Serene nodded, “Just one thing.”

Mira sighed, knowing what was coming, and waited until Serene set down her cup again and adjust her glasses.

“You will be telling the General  _exactly_  why we’re behind our deadline, correct?”

The blood mage slumped in her chair, “I…I suppose that I better…”

“Good.”


	21. Routine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slowly, life goes on, despite incoming threats...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Death Knight squad Luna hangs out with are the Krazy Kamikaze that I made up and never did anything with. Tilly's death knights make some guest appearances.

**Routine**

  
Annessa frowned as she sat in the examiner’s room, “Any problems?”

The necromancer looking her over shook her head, “You appear to be in order. Now then, about your new ward…”

The death knight chewed the inside of her cheek, “She’s mostly harmless,” she said as she stood and went to her armor, slowly lifting it and placing it on, “I am not sure how wise it is to let her wander around here while I came for briefing.”

“We are observing,” came the simple answer, “We do not believe that she will find anything in the small area we are in, nor will she…”

Both stopped at the sudden sound of loud cursing and the sound of running, and both went to the door.

“Nessa! This is fun!” Luna cried as she skipped past them.

“The bloody hell she got into…” Annessa started before a short male death knight ran past her, flowers braided into his long hair.

“I’M NOT  _CUTE_!”

“Of all the people… she had to call  _Aen_  that…” the Necromancer sighed, “We were making such good progress at group too, even found him a partner shorter than he was.”  
  


* * *

 

Leona stepped into the stance, listening around her for any signs of the coming attack. Her two practice swords were at the ready, her good eye closed for now.

_“Find your balance.”_

There was a rustling of grass, the only warning she had before the fruit flew towards her and she moved, intercepting the apple before it hit her, knocking it to the ground with her right blade. 

Another, this time knocked with her left, then it was silent for a time, then came a sharp breath and Leona looked up, crossing her blades in front of her to stop the point of Kit’s spear.

“Wow! That’s pretty impressive,” Leona opened her eye to look at the older girl who was grinning at her, “Man, Varo’s a good teacher. I never could get the handle of swords, cool as they are. Part of why I’m thinking of giving Kaellon’s to Ollie, he’d get better use of it than me.”

“Er…” Leona put her practice swords in their place on her back, “But… shouldn’t you keep something of him? He’s a part of who you are…”

“It’s complicated,” Kit said softly, “I mean, you don’t have anything of the people you came from, and I think you’re doing much better for it. I mean, do you still even have those letters that old man wrote for his son?”

“Just until I find where his son was killed,” the small girl frowned, “I… Varo and Mira are my parents, but… I really loved him, I feel like I owe him…” she stopped as Kit ruffled her hair.

“He would have been happy you have a real family now,” Kit said gently, “Come on, we’ve got a little more practice to get to. And I think your dad wanted to have a match with me too.”

Leona giggled, “He wants to remember your name,” she chewed the inside of her cheek, “Kit… how is Mr. Cyril…”

She paused, staring down at Leona for a moment, “ _Totally_  fine,” she said grinning, “Evos got him all straightened out and he and Zandrae got a cure for that curse now. Doncha worry on it anymore, you just keep on having fun. Only get  _one_  shot at childhood, right?”

* * *

 

“Package for ya.”

Kit blinked at the goblin holding up the worn looking parcel, “Let me guess,” she said flatly, “Someone paid for the express?”

“Not  _my_  fault that it got lost, and  _won’t_  be my fault if things get broke cause I didn’t get…”

She didn’t even wait for the goblin to finish, just fished out a few gold coins and he flashed a smile before turning to go, “By the way… tell your bosses that I’ll be informing General  _Cero_  Sunsoul on how well this was delivered.”

Kit fought back a giggle as she watched him run for dear life, then looked down at the package, “Oh hey!” she grinned, “She didn’t forget! This is…” nimble hands tore at the paper and soon she was lifting the lid of a very well stocked first aid gift, “Just like her, something pretty practical. Anti-venom, anti-septic, bandages… Oh! Some more of that salve for sore muscles, scar cream… hey, herbs for tea. Nice,” she pulled out a little wrapped bundle, “And this must be the whimsical present.”

A little late, but at least it wasn’t forgotten, and she opened it and laughed as she pulled out the small wooden dragon dangling from a bangle, “ _Applewood_! That’s perfect!” she said as she slipped it on.

“Better head back to the garrison and see what the next mission is. I bet Mama Farflight will feel better about me having these supplies.”

* * *

Luna skipped beside Annessa, blithely ignoring the glares from the death knights in the encampment, “I’m so happy that you decided to let me come,” she said as she looked around, “I had heard things about Frostwall, but never thought I’d get to…”  
  
“You didn’t know what it was until I got the message from my commander this morning,” Annessa growled, “Now shut up and not a word. A misstep here will get you killed.”  
  
“I’m inclined to believe that the ones here could pull it off,” Ereisa said from her spot hovering by Luna’s shoulder, then lapsed into silence as Annessa shot her a glare.  
  
The three came to the command tent, and Luna and Ereisa blinked at the motion to stay put before the death knight went in, “Canuck,” Annessa said, then placed a hand on her hip, “You ordered me to watch the bird. Why…”  
  
“Change of plans,” the taller of the two men, a half-elf with blood-red hair said, “You’ll have to do double duty Ness, we have orders to take care of a few desperate situations here.”  
  
“How desperate do they have to be,” she said flatly, then smiled, “Well, makes it easier on me, I don’t do well in the city. And there’s very little organization that I can tell with that group.”  
  
The shorter male, an elf necromancer with blue hair smiled, “It may seem that way, but I’ve heard things about…” he blinked, “Is that a flower crown? I’ve never seen you look so girly, even when we were alive sister.”  
  
“She’ll make one for you too,” Annessa said flatly, “She already braided some into Aen’s hair. About got my arm ripped out fighting him off of her.”  
  
“Well, the Kamikazes could use a mascot!” Canuck laughed, “Make sure to keep her away from Gutrip and the Gob Twins, but I think the rest of the squad will like the change of levity.”  
  
“I think you’re underestimating the idiocy of the squad Commander,” she said flatly, then looked to the Necromancer, “And  _you,_  stop encouraging him. It’s any wonder that we managed to win any battles.”  
  
“Novan’s helping me with the strategy now,” Canuck grinned, gesturing at the map table, “I think we rush everything and win!”  
  


* * *

Luna squatted in front of the fence and stared at the pots of barren soil, scrunching her face up as she concentrated on the one closest to her. 

“I think it’s going to sprout any day now Mr. Moonblade,” she said as she glanced behind her at the tauren death knight that was directing a few ghouls to plant various seeds in more pots, “Thanks for showing me how to garden!”   

The black-furred tauren looked over at her and waved, “It isn’t often someone in this company wants to. Head straight back to the command building now Luna, there are too many damaged brains in the encampment.”   

She smiled and waved as she walked off, and he sighed wearily at seeing her head off in the completely wrong direction, “Better send a message to Nessa before one of them see her…” he grumbled.  

* * *

“Novan! You can’t raise a riverbeast!”

Ereisa sighed, agreeing with Annessa’s argument, but after observing the going ons at this place for a few days, the young Val'kyr decided it was best that she was heard from as little as possible.              

The necromancer with the same ice blue hair as his raised sister smiled, “Why not Ness? Besides, I promised them I would, they had this wonderful idea for swimming explosive…”

“Because with the sheer fighting power that we have already, anything else is just overkill! And those little psychos blow THEMSELVES up anyways and have you stitch them back together!”

“The Captain thinks that…”

Annessa pinched the bridge of her nose, “Sometimes I think I’m the only one with any sense around here…” she muttered, “Look…”

“Master Nightsong, a moment of your time?”

Both looked to see the Pandaren death knight that stood at the door, “Oh! Lost Ryoga!” Novan said happily, “How are the noodles today?”

“I think a few more dashes of arsenic and one or two helpings of cyanide and it will be ready for dinner,” he gave a toothy smile, “But that is not the reason I came, Master Moonblade is worried that the young bird flew a bit too far.”

Both Annessa and Ereisa cursed as the female death knight moved to the doorway, “This isn’t over,” she promised Novan, then walked out into the snow.

“Master Nightsong, do not forget your promise to raise some wild boars for our hunting tomorrow,” the pandaren bowed as he retreated to return to the mess hall.

Novan smiled, then turned to Ereisa, “What do you think? A few more undead beasts never hurt, right?”

* * *

The goblin death knights looked at each other, then back at Annessa, “No we haven’t seen her,” said the one in a lovely red dress, “Shame too, I wanted to test blowing her up.”

“Calm down Havoc,” her partner, dressed in the black armor the rest of the company wore, said, “Novan hasn’t even confirmed that she does actually go back into an egg.”

“I need new boobs Control,” she glanced up at Annessa, “You’re not using yours, you could…”

“No,” she said flatly, “And no blowing her up either, I don’t give a damn what you’re testing. We haven’t cleared her even being here with the leader of that group yet, and dammit, let’s have one group not pissed the hell at us. Be nice to get some non-suicide missions for once.”

“Nessie, you forget how fun those can be!” Havoc laughed, “Come on, wouldn’t your brother love to sew you back up…”

“Not everyone likes to be a patchwork quilt,” Control sighed, rubbing his chin, “Come to think of it, I don’t like being one… doesn’t stop you from…”

Annessa took that as her cue to back away, leaving the two to bicker as she went to ask someone else.

“Oooo, what’s a trouser snake?”

She paled.

_NOT him, of all the people here…_

She moved faster than she thought possible, and made it just in time to snatch Luna by the ear, moving the girl away from the large undead orc before he could answer _that_ question.

“Oh! There you are Annessa! That was a wonderful walk, did you know that Mr. Kyl'thun made an entire fence of bones and severed heads? And Mr. Gutrip there was going to show me how to raise a trouser snake, whatever that is, and…” Luna blinked, “Why are you beating your head against that beam?”

“For the fucking sake of all that is unholy, you cannot POSSIBLY be THAT  _NAIVE_!”

* * *

Dear Friend,

So many exciting things have happened since I ran into you last.

Right now I am in Silvermoon, and Nessa is visiting me here, saying that she can’t trust me enough to stay out of trouble as I am.

Personally I think that she was rather lonely without me at Frostwall with her, her company there is nice and all, but she seems more annoyed with them than she is with me. Mr. Moonblade, the gardener there, says that she is one that likes there to be an order with things. He also said that I’m an enigma because I make my own order.  
  
I am unsure of what he means.  
  
Nessa has been teaching me how to fight like I was in her company, it really started with their Captain suggesting I join the team for morning practices, and while armor is heavy… I’m liking that I’m becoming a real knight for the Faeries.  
  
Mr. Novan (Nessa’s brother, a funny man that talks to skulls) says that makes me the first ever Flower Knight. I’ve yet to ask the Faerie King what he thinks on that.  
  
OH! Speaking of the Faerie King, I got to play with my brother the other day. Poor dear, he hurt his wing while being the Royal Knight, and I had to bandage it for him. I hope the King gives him enough pettings, Brother needs love and affection until he heals properly.  
  
I met the other side of the pulling, and he does not appear to be as lonely as the binding suggests. I hope you won’t tell anyone that I don’t believe it. However, I shall try to keep with his appearance. He says that he will help me remember… there is a reason that I forgot though, or I think. I believe that I did something horrible… there’s more to it than that, but… I feel that I deserve this amnesia, that what I did was something that destroyed myself.

It is a strange feeling, knowing that you are your own enemy. Who can I trust?  
  
On the other hand, he did mention something wonderful, because he stated that the King is my father. The Faeries say that is why they made him the King.  
They also whisper that you are a guest of the Court, does that mean that you are a Prince?   
  
Right now you are a comfort to me, as I for some reason know that I can write whatever into this origami bird and you will never judge me for it. That you really are a true friend. Even if I say that I like to curl up and suck my thumb when I sleep, or that I have a pet snarkleblast that lives on top of my shoulders (Ereisa does not believe me on this, and snorts when I pet the tiny thing or feed him toaworms).  
  
Even if we never meet in person, I am glad to have you as my friend.  
Yours affectionately,  
  
Luna  
(and her pet snarkleblast Flamery).  
  


* * *

“Captain?”

Kit glanced behind her at Aesin, “Oh, guess it’s your shift for look-out?”  
  
He notched his bow as he settled in the crow’s nest then glanced back up at the rigging she was perched on, “What are you doing up here?”  
  
“Thinking,” she glanced up to the sky, “Draenor’s got two moons, didja ever notice it? I wish I got to learn what sort of constellations they have, but the orcs we met didn’t want to talk about them much, and the draenei weren’t exactly friendly.”  
  
“We’ll find him Captain, you’ve got a good idea to check the area around Southport, even if we have to dodge Alliance to do it.”

“A few human friends of mine are over there, I already talked to one,” she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, “Aesin… how come you and Vaal and Orin follow me? I mean, we met when I was still a junior scout for Jude, how come you agreed to leave the outpost and…”

The blond hunter stared at her for a moment as her voice trailed off and the tips of her ears turned bright red, “We followed lots of people before. Orin was one of the elves that followed the Prince before he was killed… And Vaal and I, we were Farstriders. The two of us were part of the group that rebuilt Tranquillen and the Ghostlands… if you can call that rebuilding,” he shook his head, “We followed warriors and royalty and everything in between.”

“And now you follow a little girl.”

“A little girl that survived,” she glanced back at him, “You’re going to be doing some great things Kit. You already have. Besides, you have a promise, and… this is why we follow you… you don’t break those.”

She smiled and glanced back up at the sky, “It’s going to be hard to get up there to steal the stars. Especially since Jude said we can’t man a airship.”

Aesin chuckled, “Since when have you ever listened to the rules? But first things first, we find the idiot lord and make sure that you don’t lose him again.”  
  


* * *

“You’re hogging the covers brat.”

“Says the ass that’s wrapped up in  _three_  right now.”

“It’s cold here.”

Kit giggled, then moved to snuggle into Evirin’s chest, pulling her blanket over her head and up to his chin, “I know a few ways we could warm up,” she teased as she scooted up to kiss him, “Course I’m kinda liking this wrapped up cuddling.”

“Why we couldn’t do this in the  _bed_ …” he sighed, glancing over at it, “Why do you even  _have_  one if you’re not going to  _use_  it?”

She stuck out her tongue, “Shoulda picked me up and carried me instead of climbing in here.”

“Brat,” he bit it, then leaned back and tightened his grip around her, “You need more blankets.”

“You’ve got four including mi…” Both glanced at the knock on the door.  
  
“Captain!” Orin called, “Need you on deck!”

“That sounds important,” Kit frowned, “Maybe I should…”

“No, stay here,” Evirin pulled her close to him, “Too cold…”

“Evie, if they…” he kissed her deeply, and she found it difficult to breath, panting when they parted.

Orin started banging on the door, the death knight seeming frantic to get her attention.

“ _Stay_ ,” his voice sounded desperate as he cupped her cheeks, “Don’t go back.”

She stared at him, “Evie…”

“You don’t need to go out there, everything you need is right here…”

There was the sound of wood splintering and Kit took a deep breath, now she was getting cold, and it was getting harder to breath, “Ass…  _when_  did you get here?”

His grip became tighter as he trailed kisses down her neck and shoulder, moving her closer to him.

“Evirin…  _please_ …” Kit grabbed his cheeks, “When did you get here. Where were you…”

“Doesn’t matter, I’m here now,” she started to look towards her door and he tilted her head back towards him, “Stay with me Kaelona. We won’t be alone…”

“CAPTAIN!”

“ _No!_ ” Evirin grabbed her shoulders and roughly pulled her to his chest as she started to get up, causing the hammock to sway and both to fall.

Orin had finished chopping through the door as Kit looked up from beneath the pile of blankets, rubbing her eyes and gasping for air.

“It’s gone…” he said, leaning against the wall and breathing an odd sigh of relief, then glanced at the two elves that followed him, “It nearly had her.”

Kit shakingly stood up, “Wh… _what_  nearly had me…?” she asked in a whisper, not looking at them, but staring at the empty blankets she had climbed out of.

“Near as we can tell some sort of ice-elemental,” Aesin said quietly, “Vaal and I were unaffected because…” his lover cleared his throat and the hunter blushed before continuing, “Orin was already dead, he got most of the others out, but…”

“You were the easiest target Captain.”

Kit winced at the bluntness of the death knight’s words, “But he was here…” she whispered.

“It pulled everything from your memories,” Vaal said, the rogue looking away, “Part ice elemental, part ghost… it wanted heat.”

She chewed her bottom lip, “No…” she smiled sadly and looked over at them, “He wanted love. That’s why he targeted the ones he did. He must be so  _lonely_ out here in the middle of the ocean.”

“I’ll mark it on the charts so we can avoid this passage in the future.”

Kit nodded at Orin’s words, “Good idea. Because,” she clenched her fists, “We can’t give him what he wants.”

Vaal ruffled her hair, “Don’t worry Little Sister, there’ll be someone who does. And that nice dream he gave you will come true soon enough.”

The three walked out of the cabin and she looked back at the pile of blankets under her hammock.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” she collapsed to her knees and covered her face with her hands as tears rolled down her cheeks, “But I have to find the real Evie… because as bad as you are…”

_“He needs you.”_

She glanced up at the voice, blinking when she realized no one was in the room with her.  
  


* * *

Mira put the last vial up, smiling once more as she turned to look over her laboratory.  
  
A month had been a long time to leave it alone, and her student did the best that she could. She returned to find it in pristine condition, all her notes and research primly organized into volumes that now lined her bookshelf, new labels were on each and every vial, the instruments all neatly organized and placed away.  
  
It was well done, except the blood had been left alone.  
  
Mira couldn’t really blame Serene,  there was complications in the research that her student rather not deal with. What other venues of research that had been needed had been done.  
  
She missed her refuge. Even though she had enjoyed her wanderings and had made many new observations and notes for research… this place… even if it wasn’t the original laboratory… had special meaning for her.  
  
Cero trusted her with his most important knowledge. Even though she was…

Mira shook her head, best not to think on that now.   
  
Serene had stacked her mail up just as neatly as her research, the now visible desk was clear of nearly everything except for the three letters. The blood mage picked up the first, a note from her sister, more questions on why she was not supporting the call of their…

She sighed and placed it down, tomorrow she would once again try to explain to Nami that she wanted nothing more to do with her former allegiance. Perhaps she’d try to talk to Ava and have her speak with the girl.

Once more, she was secretly relieved that she did not go to Cero for help with bringing her sister to Quel'thalas.

The second was a letter from Raine, telling her of Taladren’s latest exploits on the farm. Mira smiled as she looked it over, making a mental note to go and visit with both soon, Varotin and Leona would enjoy the trip.

She missed the days that she was the one caring for the boy. It was something she had enjoyed nearly as much as her research, one of the reasons Leona was urging her to volunteer more, she was happy in serving… but serving for good.

Mira chuckled, then picked up the third letter, the happiness quickly draining from her as she noticed the seal that Serene would not have understood.

Because if she did, her student would have destroyed it instead of leaving it for her.  
  
Her face was pale as she took her letter opener and broke the wax, slowly opening it to read the contents.  
  
 _“Dearest Favorite,_

_Don’t act so surprised, we of course knew of the mission given to you. We all did, such a tasty morsel to offer himself. It would have been better if one of us was handed it, but then, it wouldn’t be as much fun now._

_As a lovely courtesy, we wanted to inform you of our new assignment, someone that won’t be lasting quite as long, and someone that seems to be rather hostile towards your little allies. Easy enough to manipulate him, easier still to get your attention when the time is right._

_Do take care of our Eighth. At least until we can make it to her to give her our personal regards. And do let your assignment know that it won’t be so easy. You made a foolish mistake, you won’t escape again._

_Of course, neither will that little world, we do believe that it’s the next stop. And in that case, we’ll have a lovely show-down very, very soon. Do enjoy what remains of your freedom. After all, you won’t share the same fate of our other siblings that failed._

_Oh no, we were asked to make sure that your punishment will be **well remembered.**_

_Enjoy the last few months of your freedom. We’re having some fun with our assignment before coming for you. Look for our next mission in the next few weeks, then enjoy the anguish of waiting for the next sign that we’re on this realm._

_With love,_  
 _Your Dearest Sisters.”_  
  
Mira collapsed to her knees, her knuckles white from gripping the letter.  
  
Now what should she do…?


	22. Her Sisters' Warning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mira rushes to save her younger sister, but arrives far too late.

**Her Sisters' Warning**

The two were already in the courtyard when Mira came upstairs, though that was hardly surprising to her, practice started nearly three hours before.

“Mama!” Leona said happily, dodging a blow aimed at the side of her head and parrying with a side thrust, “We don’t normally hear from you until after dinner!”

“I decided to go visiting today,” Mira said quietly, “I figured I’d try once more to convince Naminea to come here.”

“Want me to come with you?” Varotin asked, spinning out of the way of an attack, “Worse comes to worse, I can just carry her.”

“No,” she smiled at that, and at the near-hit Leona made just after that, “Make sure that you two stop long enough to eat lunch.”

“I have to hit Papa one-hundred times,” the small girl said, sliding under a slice, “Then we can stop this practice round, but then I have laps still… and then we start again after lunch.”

“You’re up to ninety-eight!” he said happily, “Get the next two in five minutes, and I’ll take you somewhere special!”

Mira sighed, “ _You_  can’t say anything!” Varotin said winking at her before she could, “How long were you in that scary room yesterday?”

“Someone around here has to earn a living,” she smiled, “Besides, part of that time was spent making something special.”

“I thought you finished that already,” he jumped back.

“Special for you,” she stepped away from the railing and turned to go, “Just because I love you,” she smirked a bit as she heard two distinctive thunks as wooden sword hit hard leather.

“That’s my girl! Exploiting a weakness!” Varotin said as he grabbed Leona into a hug.

“But Papa, what if Mama says she loves you in a battle, you’d be in  _real trouble_ if you get into a bit of a daze then…”

“No worries, I’ll just get her to say it every day! Build up an immunity!”

Mira shook her head, “I might go and see if I can visit Sa…er Bane later and give him the presents I made. Oh, and Leona, make sure that you go by the Row to visit Felano, I ordered something for you.”

“Oh?” the girl gasped, “That reminds me! Papa, you have to help me with something!”

“Be back soon Mira!”

“I will,” she promised, looking back at them, “Hopefully with Nami in tow.”

Varotin’s face darkened for a moment, matching her frown, but both hid that bit of worry from Leona, and he turned his attention back to her, as Mira left the house.

Flare was waiting on her on the steps, and he stretched as he got to his feet, purring as he rubbed against her skirts.

_**It’s too late you know. We both felt them…** _

“Shush. There’s a chance.”

**_With the sheer force that hit your wards? All we’re going to find are the blood stains that they left of the other traitor._ **

Mira took a deep breath, trying hard not to think of the terror she felt last night, the preparations she had made this morning.

“That was to the far south of here, Nami lives north. Besides, our wards aren’t the only ones protecting her, we have Ava’s and Togy’s as well. And she would have been preparing.”

She held out her hand, summoning her broomstick to her, and Flare jumped on her shoulder as she mounted and took to the sky.

The manor came into sight soon enough and Mira dived, chewing her bottom lip in worry.

_They came through the wards in Ghostlands last night… what if they weren’t heading to Nami but instead to…_

Varotin was there, he wouldn’t let any harm come to Leona (or Serene and Aura), but what if _he_ was the target…

_**I doubt even they would take on three dragons and a numbskull. Even if two of the dragons are still whelplings. Remember how cowardly your elder sisters are? They’d go for her. Besides, getting the idiot is only fun if you’re watching.** _

“He’s not an idiot Flare,” Mira muttered as she brought the broom for a landing on the front steps, picking it up and going to the door.

**_Besides, smell that. Death certainly was here just a few hours ago._ **

She paled and reached to open the door.

* * *

The house seemed empty, far too empty considering the few servants Nami had employed should have been bustling around.

Even Flare was silent as he walked into the foyer next to Mira, for once the cat-demon not making snide comments as both looked around.  
“Three hallways…?” she narrowed her eyes, “There were only two before.”

**_Seems a bit too easy, don’t you think?_ **

“Obviously so,” Mira agreed and small yellow flames appeared on her hand, “I should have gone to Cero before coming here, but…” she paused and looked down at him, “…can you fight still?”  
  
He stretched,  _ **Not as well as in my original form, but I have a few tricks that might work. You did at least bring some blood?**_  
  
“One vial,” she said quietly, “But it’s for an emergency.”  
  
 ** _It better be enough._**

“Considering where it came from, it will be,” she promised, and both walked down the middle hall.  
  
A few feet up and candles started lighting, showing them their path with pale fel green flames and the blood witch and cat glanced at each other.

_**On a scale from Theravir to Kit, how much trouble you think we’re in?**_  
  
“Far beyond Kit…” Mira paled, “They’re still here.”  
  
 ** _We can still run._**

“Running will make us prey.”

**_And we’re not already?_**  
  
“No, now we’re adversaries. On slightly less footing,” she stepped forward.  
  
 ** _Your feet are shaking.  
_**  
Mira swallowed, taking another step forward, “Come on,” she said without betraying her fear in her voice, “We must find out what happened to Nami.”  
  
Flare stared at her, then turned to the exit behind them, starting to go, before looking at her once more, and then hissed,  ** _FINE, might as well die with the brat that trapped me._**  
  
“You’ve had plenty of chances to leave,” she said as he caught up to her.  
  
The flames on her hands were turning to bluish-purple,  ** _Your fear is showing.  
_**  
Mira took a deep breath and the flames returned to normal as she kept going forward. The hallway lead into a small room with a large door leading deeper into the home. Once more, they glanced at each other, and then both turned around.

**_Of course._ **

A much smaller door stood in place of the hallway they had just traveled.

“Strange,” Mira said quietly, “We smelt death and blood at the entrance and through that hall, but now it’s gone.”  
  
 ** _Obviously that was part of the trap as well. We’re already caught.  
_**  
“We knew that entering the place,” she frowned, “So now the question is… which door?”  
  
 **** _Knowing your sisters, I’d take the larger one. They’re not one for…_

“Both are wrong.”

Flare stopped and looked up at her and Mira smiled to herself, “Neither. If we enter either of those doors, we die, but…” she paused for a moment, paling as she looked to the corner of her eye and turned towards it, “The smell of blood and death… it’s coming from the place we’re afraid to see.”  
  
He yelped as the third door appeared, hiding in the shadows in the corner.  ** _You’re not serious! The power…_**  
  
“Go and get Master then,” she bent down and took a red stone from her pocket, “This should take you straight to him.”

**_And leave an idiot like you alone?  
_**  
“Good,” she stood and stepped to the hidden door, “No more fear Flare.”  
  
It opened as she touched the handle and both went inside the darkness within.  
  
 _“Dear Sister, what took you so long? We’ve been_ **waiting**  for you…”  
  


* * *

When she was younger, they had both frightened and fascinated her.

Beatricia was the younger, by a few moments according to mad rumors, and she was also the only succubi Mira knew that had sun-gold hair, a gift she said came from the Master because of her service. She preferred dressing in lighter clothing, often choosing whites and blues, and often covering her entire body, her powers of seduction used to keep her nearly inaccessible to those she had chosen, giving an air of false innocence, and then taking everything.

  
The Master often sent her after Light-Wielders, and she excelled at corruption, with a reputation of never failing even once at her missions.

The elder twin, Lillithia, was a far more mundane succubus, though she was often reserved for high ranking warlocks and officials. Though not as powerful as Beatricia, she still claimed a perfect mission record, able to seduce men and women to her bidding and take everything she can when she was done.

Neither called a demonologist master. When they were done with their summoner, they wouldn’t just kill them. They would drain every bit of hope and despair from them.

Mira faced them both now. She once served the same Master they did, was sent to seduce and drain someone that was labeled a threat.

She failed that first mission. She never drained anyone. Her power was nothing compared to theirs. She had even allowed herself to forget, become one with a mortal vessel… if she fought them now, alone, she wouldn’t just die… they’d take everything that she was or could have been.

Yet she stood facing them without fear in her eyes as Flare peered out from behind her feet.

“Goodness, it seems she did send that mangy ex-demon hunter to you,” Beatricia said as she glanced up from the altar she was standing over, blood dripping down her mouth as she wiped it with a cloth, “Your powers are just as volatile as ever aren’t they Seven?”

“Surprised she hasn’t blown up this silly little country already,” Lillithia said as she placed a small reddish brown item in her mouth and licked her fingers, “I don’t think she’ll taste as good as Eight did Bea, she seems to be rejecting her true nature.”  
  
“So Naminea is gone then,” Mira said quietly, “The others that were in the household also made up your meal, or did you just kill them?”

“Lily, she’s speaking to us as if we were her equals,” Beatricia laughed, “Little Seven, don’t you know that you and our brother are the only ones left besides us?”

“She was a bit of a failure until her last anyways, I’m impressed with how much she stored up in the short amount of time she was here, this place must be ripe for the pickings,” Lillithia picked up another organ from the altar, “Imagine the fun we’ll have…”

“Leave.”

Both narrowed their eyes and turned to Mira, “Seven, you _are_ forgetting your place,” the elder twin said, “You want to be the tenth sibling to meet this fate?”  
  
“What a force we might have been if petty jealousy hadn’t tainted you,” Mira stepped forward, “The Master’s Thirteen we could have been called, Nothing would have been able to withstand us. But ever since Ysolde gained that bit of favor, you two have been waiting for an excuse, any excuse to kill and absorb the rest of us. You  _dare_  not touch Levi… but your sisters? We were just in the way for your own ambition.”

Neither said anything, only snapped their whips, grabbing Mira’s arms with the length as they pulled back.

“You couldn’t kill me before I was sent away, you wanted him to do it for you,” her flames crept up the leather, “You aren’t killing me now, which means that despite your warnings, you still don’t have permission to.”

“Don’t be so egotistical Seven, it’s only a matter of time before the Master decides you obsolete,” Beatricia snarled, “He’s only thinking of a much bigger picture.”

“Besides,” Lillithia smirked, “He said to keep you alive, he didn’t say anything about keeping you pretty.”  
  
“A little vacation in the Nether ought to fix your misplaced alliances,” the other said as both pulled, “Too bad you’ll never see these pathetic mortals again Seven.”

Mira’s flames exploded outward, and they let go of the whips to shield their eyes, as she struggled free and ducked behind one of the shattered pieces of furniture around the room. She fumbled into her bag, pulling out the vial of blood.

“Oh don’t be such a sore loser,” the younger twin said as the two picked up their whips and looked around, “Come out and play Seven.”

“My name is not Seven,” Mira stood and then turned to face them, “My name is Mira Ashsong, Apprentice to General Cero Sunsoul. _And I have not lost yet._ ”

“I don’t know, outnumbered and outpowered,” Beatricia shrugged, “Seems like you lost to me.”

“Outpowered yes,” Mira said quietly, “Outnumbered, never. Did it ever occur to you I might have a reason for betraying your Master? For choosing to never return to you?”  
  
“You failed! Easier to run and hide than face up to it!” Lillithia snapped her whip again, “All you have are those little flames, what can you possibly do to…”

“I don’t need to do anything, not even live. Because all I am doing here is gathering information,” Mira smiled sadly, “It is true, I failed my mission… such as it was given to me. The one who did was a fool, but which of your Master’s agents was it that did?”  
  
The twins paused, staring at her, “What are you saying?” Beatricia growled.  
  
“Merely an observation. None of us knew the messenger imp, did we… but what does it matter, the fact remains, I failed my mission,” she stepped closer to them, “But why? Why would I not complete it, pose as a servant, and then, like my eldest sisters, take everything that he was? Simple enough to do so… and I had plenty of opportunities.”  
  
Flare was moving alongside the room, and Mira tried not to look at him, instead, kept her gaze on her sisters, kept talking.  
  
“The fact of the matter is, the General is far more powerful than either of you combined, and each day he grows stronger. Neither of you could hope to face him, and neither of you will ever be anywhere near his level,” she smirked, “His power he freely gives to those he leads, he rules through something you two will never understand. Because his power is not just his… it belongs to all in his organization. He has Theravir’s wisdom, Judessa’s nobility, Vel’s cunning, Kit’s bravery. Any one in the Wings will destroy you where you stand, and we are  _never_  alone.”  
  
Flare was nearly directly behind them now and she clenched her fists.  
  
“And trust me Sisters, when we face each other again, it will be the whole of the Wings that does so,” Mira let white flames dance on her fingers, “But for now, I will bury my younger sister, what’s left of her, and report what I learned from you to the General.”

“And what makes you think that you will walk away from this place?” Beatricia snorted, “All that talk of facing these people, and I still only see scared little Seventh crying in front of me.”  
  
“Stalling in hopes that someone will rescue you?” Lillithia raised her whip, “I say we forget Master’s orders and just…”  
  
She screamed as Flare leapt and bit her in the neck, “Little…” she pulled the cat off, “Damnit that hurt!”  
  
 _ **Now Mira!  
**_  
She nodded as she raised her hands, white-hot flames moving from them to form a vortex.  
  
“Now that  _IS_  impressive.”  
  
All four stopped at the voice, the elder succubi turning pale and stepping back and Mira letting the flames fade away, “Oh no…” she whispered.  
  
“Mira! I missed you, you never come around anymore,” a pale boy with long dark hair said as he sat on the altar, “And awww, didja have to kill Nami?” he looked up at the twins and pouted, “She made the best cakes! Especially now…” he stood up and wiped his hands, “Oh well, guess I’ll have to find a baker to summon me for that,” he turned back to Mira and smiled, “You look happy! And Flare made it to you alright, I was worried for a minute there,” he picked up the cat and scratched him behind the ears, earning a wary purr, “Don’t be so nervous, how’s world domination coming along?” he asked him then looked back at the blood witch, “Mortal now? For a time at least,” he sighed, “I  _hate_  that, it means we’ll have to fight you. Seven, don’t let  _anyone_  kill you but me, alright?”

She smiled sadly at him, “Only you Levi.”

He waved his hands in dismissal and their elder siblings bowed and vanished, “Won’t have to worry about them for a while, I don’t like relying on them anyways, they keep killing my favorite playmates,” he looked at Mira and frowned for a moment, “You mean all that stuff you said? How’s he do all that?”  
  
“They love him,” she said quietly, “The ones that follow him love him.”

“Even you?”  
  
She nodded.  
  
He narrowed his eyes, “What about this other information I have. About you having a family now?”  
  
“That’s true as well.”  
  
“And… you love them too?”  
  
She nodded again, “Levi…”

He took a deep breath, hugging Flare to his chest, “Then if I kill them all, you’ll go back to loving me right?”  
  
“I never stopped loving you Levi.”  
  
“LIAR!” he snapped, “You  _forgot_  about me! That’s even worse! You even  _chose_  to forget!”  
  
“He keeps the memories of you locked away for me,” she stepped forward and knelt to him, “Levi… you could come with me now.  _Please_ … we don’t have to fight.”  
  
He put Flare in her arms, “Hurry up and remember me Sister. Please? It won't be fun otherwise,” he glanced at the remnants of flesh on the altar, “Disgusting how those two gorge themselves. Nami would have made a pretty beetle,” he turned back to Mira and kissed her on the cheek, “I’m thinking I’ll put you in a little bird. I heard about those phoenixes, I want one. So I’ll go for the next best thing and put my favorite sister in a thrush, her flames will make it into a phoenix.”  
  
With that he bowed and disappeared, leaving Mira and Flare in the room alone with Naminea’s body.  
  
 _ **Is it too late to go through the portal and hope we get stuck on Draenor? I mean if the rumors about your brother are actually true...  
**_  
“I… don't remember," she frowned, something there... then shook her head, "I had hoped that he wouldn’t come,” Mira chewed her bottom lip, “…all we can do is tell Master, we can’t…”  
  
She took a deep breath, it was a victory, a minuscule one, but a victory. She had faced her sisters and lived.  
  
Mira glanced at what was left of Nami and stepped over to the altar, her hand glowing with white flame.  
  
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” she whispered, kneeling as she let the flames ignite the body and sobbed against the altar, “I only wanted to keep you safe… if I had left you alone…”  
  
 _ **They would have eaten her no matter what you did.**_  Flare sat next to her,  __ **At least now we have something to work with.  
**  
He pawed at her bag and she pulled out a small glass jar, opening it and watching as he spit blood into it.  
  
“You’re right,” she closed the jar and held it up to her eyes, “Cero will be able to find out everything with this.” 


	23. Meanwhile...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meanwhile the rest of the family go on with their lives, unaware of the incoming threat.

**Meanwhile**

Mira hadn’t returned in over a week and Serene was once again left to deal with the laboratory and paperwork.

Which wouldn’t be as bad if Vel hadn’t decided to take a vacation at the same time.  
  
Easy enough to take care of the laboratory, all experiments were caught up and none had been started. Serene still didn’t care for the identity of the father of Taladren, so she simply cleaned up the loose paperwork, filed it, and made a mental note to break in the table and desk later on with Aura.

Vel’s duties took a bit more attention to detail… and it didn’t help that Serene was still a tad unclear on what it was the consultant actually  _did_.

All in all, it made for a rather grumpy scribe.  
  
“Any word from Mama?”  
  
Serene cursed under her breath as Leona asked the question for the ninth day in a row, and had to remind herself to not snap at the child, instead stirred her coffee, “Not a word. Varotin might be the better one to ask for news.”  
  
“He said that the bond was getting confusing… like she’s deliberately hiding herself,” Leona sighed and leaned her head on the table, “Why would she do that?”  
  
“I heard that there’s a Hallow’s End party tonight,” both Leona and Serene stared at Aura in confusion for that, and he blushed and glanced at Serene before turning to Leona, “You should go, there’ll be a lot of fun, right?”

Serene stared at him for a second more, then smiled, realizing what he was doing, “And afterwards, we can take you trick or treating. I can practice against you with swords as well.”

Leona sat up, “Th…then Papa can just go look for Mama and won’t have to worry!”  
  
She ran off to find him to let him know and Serene sighed as she took a sip of her coffee, “I have to go to that party you realize. There’s information to be gathered.”

“True, it might be a bit adult for her,” he said quietly, “I can take her trick or treating instead.”

Serene smiled gratefully at him, “Buy some bandages while you’re out. I’m good with fencing, but not that good. I suppose I should teach her how to defend against casters while Varo is gone.”

* * *

“Come here boy,” Kit said quietly as she held her hand out to the large red rylak perched on the mast, “Come on, no one here is going to hurt you…”

“Captain…” Aesin warned, an arrow notched and aimed at the beast, “We really should…”

One of the heads snapped towards him and Kit cursed under her breath, “No,  _no_ , look at me, all eyes on me,” she said as she climbed closer on the rigging, “He’s not going to do anything, promise.”  
  
It was a scouting mission to Darktide Roost, to check on the Iron Horde still there, one that they were doing as a favor, to ensure that there would be no surprise attack from here towards Tanaan Jungle.

They found a massacre, the rylaks apparently had gotten out of control, and after running from a particularly wild batch, Kit had given the order to turn the ship around when this one had landed on the main mast.  
  
Orin was handling the crew on the deck, and she had climbed up to the crow’s nest with Aesin to take care of him.

“Captain, looks like there’s a whole flock of them,” Vaal shouted from below, “They came after him!”

“So we attack him the rest will either dissipate or attack us,” Aesin frowned, “Captain, I can’t take them all out.”

“I know, we’ll have to make friends,” Kit kept her eyes on the rylak, “We’re not with the Iron Horde, we’re just explorers. We might do a few things here and there, but really we’re just out to have fun.”

“They’re getting closer Captain!” Vaal called out, “Orders?”

“Hold!” she yelled down, then took a deep breath, she was nearly to the rylak now, “Hey, hey, why not have fun too? Betcha didn’ like being told what to do all the time,” one of the heads sniffed at her hand, and she smiled, “Besides, wouldn’t it be  _great_  to fly for yourself?”

She bit back a cry as that head snapped at her, fighting back the urge to pull back and cradle the bit hand, instead taking a deep breath and kept it out, “See, not even angry,” she said though her voice sounded shaky.

The other head gave her it’s attention, both of them staring at the girl before glancing at each other and then edged closer, one licking her palm and the other sniffing her neck and head.

“Captain!”

“Keep holding Aesin,” Kit was giggling now, “I think he  _likes_  me.”

The hunter sighed as the rylak followed Kit back down to the deck and lowered his bow, “Great. We’ll let the Mage-commander deal with that.”

He noted the flock seeming to disappear back to their roost and settled into the crow’s nest. Below the rylak was acting like a very large, winged, two headed, and poisonous Labrador and he shook his head.

“ _Much_  easier to let the Mage-commander deal with our Captain Brat.”  
  


* * *

Leona quietly closed the door behind her, then started to creep up the stairs so not to wake anyone.  
  
“Oh good, you’re back,” she froze at the sound of Serene’s voice, “Did you have a good time. I’m glad you stayed for the whole thing.”

“You waited up?” the red haired girl sounded dismayed, “But you said that you had important work…”

The mage smiled and adjusted her glasses, “I do, but you’ve been worried far too much lately, and a whelpling like you needs to be able to be a child after all. So, I saw that Flare had gotten himself tied up,” there was a growl from the cat at that, “Did you meet anyone interesting at the party?”

Leona smiled, “I had my fortune read,” she said as she went to sit down, “By Miss Lindwe, and she said to write a letter if I ever wanted another one. And Lady Ofelia told a very scary story, and I met an orc named Swobu who was very nice. And Miss Vehlinthria invited me to go to the Jade Forest after to meet with Count Felano’s group, but I had already promised you I’d come straight home.”

Serene nodded as she summoned some cookies and hot cocoa, “Sounds like you did have a good time,” she said as she sat next to the girl and handed her the mug, “You should get out more often.”

“But then I’ll miss morning practice because I’ll be too tired,” Leona yawned and took the drink as she leaned against her elder “sister,” and then frowned, “Serene… there was something worrisome…”

“What was that Mole?”

“I thought I sensed another dragon… maybe more. I never could find them, I didn’t want to really,” she blushed, “But… you don’t think they’re hunting me?”

“ _Why_  would they do that?” the white haired mage gave her a hug, “Leona listen to me. No one is  _ever_ going to come and hunt you. Because you are  _good_. And if they can’t see that, they will within five seconds of actually meeting you. Besides,” she tapped the girl’s nose, “Odds are they were there for the party themselves. You really do worry too much.”

“But…”

“Trust me. The Blues already exiled myself and Aura, and they had no knowledge of you. So they aren’t caring. The Bronze have their own problems, and the Greens are all asleep…and quite frankly have their own problems too. The Reds MIGHT… and that’s a  _big_  might, care over you, but they’d have to find out you exist first, and we took care of any evidence that the General already did not,” she smiled, “And your disguise is not a traditional Black, nor are you making it yourself,” she took Leona’s necklace out from the girl’s armor, “All of us are. Your Papa and Mama and Aura and myself made this, and it will protect you. And that is the biggest promise I will ever make to you.”

“But…” Leona frowned, “One day I’ll be big enough to protect all of you.”

“And I look forward to that day, but until then,” she smiled, “Be my baby sister Mole and let yourself enjoy your childhood. Alright?”  
  
“Only if you enjoy some things too big sister Bat,” the smaller girl smiled up at her, “You worry too much too.”

Serene kissed her forehead, “It’s a deal then.”  
  


* * *

“Captain, I don’t know think this is such a good idea…”  
  
“Orin you’re always saying that, and how often have you been…” Kit blinked, “Uh, don’t answer that. Look, it’s just a small island. We’re breaking in the Trust Too, right?”  
  
“Are we sold on that ship name Captain?” the death knight sighed as his captain stuck out her tongue, “You do realize that acting like what they call you does not inspire leadership?”  
  
“Maybe I like being called Brat… by the right person at least,” she took a spyglass out and looked through it, “Huh… yeah, all sorts of nasties there. I can see some Naga and some of those undead giant barbarians…”  
  
“Those in particular are called Kvaldir Captain.”  
  
“Don’t those guys hate each other? And…” Kit squinted, “Yeah, they seem to have some sort of alliance, about five naga and three of the calv-door.”

“Kvaldir.”

“That’s what I said! So eight total,” she grinned, “We can totally take them. Looks like they…” she paused and snapped shut her spyglass.

“What…?” Orin started as she ran to the middle of the deck, “Captain…”

“Come on, we got a slaver’s trade to take care of!”  
  
“You’re not going to bring home something else we have to explain to the Mage-Commander, are you?”  
  
She grinned and looked over her shoulder, “Only if one of those murlocs actually wants to!”  
  


* * *

“See,” Kit tugged at her pole, “We catch fish this way…” she glanced next to her and blinked at the pile on the shore next to the tiny murloc, “Or uh…” she blinked at the minnow on her line, “Well, that works too Mister Mmmgrl.”  
  
He smiled and grabbed another large fish out of the river, holding it up for her before throwing it to the others.  
  
“Yeah, that should be enough for dinner,” she placed a hand on her hip, “For the next few weeks at least. And we put it with what Aesin and Vaal got on their hunting trip, we should be good and stocked up on proteins. Now to get some dry goods and herbage from the garrison and pack it all.”

There was a slight sound, almost like a snort, and Kit whirled around and peered into the woods, narrowing her eyes to search until she felt a tugging at her pants.

“Oh!” she grinned, “Well alright, guess we can go ahead and get these smoked now. That’s what we were doing earlier when we set up our camp,” Mmmgrl took a bite out of one of his fish and she giggled, “Or that. But it won’t last unless we either get barrels or smoke them, and smoking takes less space.”

She started to string up the fish, “Okay, come on,” he blinked at her and watched as she hooked them all onto her pole and started to walk back towards their camp, “I promise it does taste good cooked!” she called as he ran to catch up, “And it lasts longer too!”  
  
Kit glanced into the trees again, there was another soft sound, “Tell you what though, we’ll fish some more in the morning, and you can eat all the raw fish then.”  
  
The murloc child grunted happily to that, and she turned back to the path towards their camp.

Nothing was there, at least nothing that she could  _see_.

She lifted one of her hands to her scarf and pulled it up to her nose, “…you guys actually like the smell of raw fish?”

He gurgled happily in response and she shook her head, “Your people and dragons might be the only ones. I think it’s much better cooked.”  
  
She turned back for a second as they reached the camp, “I’ll leave a few out for you. But you better get me some sort of message as to when to expect you home! And I better get a kiss!”

Mmmgrl tilted his head at her.

Kit giggled and started to get to work.  
  


* * *

For several months now, she had been wandering, only pausing long enough to send the money owed for repairs.

She was not sure why she had returned to Eversong, or even why she had wandered to this farm. She watched from the treetops near the herb garden as the sad-eyed priestess came out and was about to leave when those eyes turned towards where she was sitting in the shadows.  
  
“If you are hungry, then I will make some food, but please come in for a moment and rest. This place is a haven for all that are lost.”  
  
Lucierin started and then stared at the golden-red haired sin'dorei that bowed towards her and then returned into the small farmhouse. A long moment passed and then she dropped to the ground, chewing the inside of her cheek before finally entering.  
  
Raine was placing bread on the table, the other inhabitants of the farm nowhere in sight, though Lucierin could smell tobacco in the air, and she glanced towards the door leading deeper into the house before cautiously taking a seat.

“Kit wrote me that she was worried over you.”

“What do you care? She has a different mother now,” Lucierin snatched the bread and took a larger bite than she meant to, “I’d be surprised she writes, but then, she doesn’t abandonen anyone.”

“No,” Raine said sadly, “She does not. And she deserves the happiness that I could not give her. She’s mourned enough for this one,” she placed a kettle on the stove, “My greatest sin was that I could not regain what Alandrine had taken. I will not ask her to keep paying the price for it.”

The rogue snorted, taking another bite of bread, she had been hungrier than she thought, “Well fine. You can tell her I’m alive at least. Suppose you’re going to report me to your master general.”

“No, I’m not going to tell Cero, or even Kit,” Raine looked at her, “You’re claiming sanctuary here.”

Lucierin paused, staring at her, “I’m… what?”

“When was the last time that you’ve eaten? I know that you have been sending the reparations to Zandrae for your sin… but,” Raine paused, “Lucierin… this farm is for those that have no where to go. You can begin again here.”

The priestess didn’t flinch when her offer was met with snide laughter, merely folded her hands in front of her.

“Begin again? What trash!” Lucierin stood, slamming her hands on the table, “Only  _fools_  believe in redemption. And  _only_  a fool would offer it to someone that was made a weapon. I knew you were naive enough in growing those damn trees that won’t fix the Scar, but I never suspected  _this_  level of idiocy. You’d have me come into your house? What? Not enough excitement? I’ll destroy this place and everyone in it.”

“Will you?” Raine asked quietly.

“What do you even  _care_?! I’m not your daughter… and when was the last time  _you_  actually spoke to her outside of a letter?”

“The issue now is not her, but you, Lucierin.”  
  
“ _He_  put you up to this, didn’t he?!?” the accusation came out as a low growl, “Maybe if you hand me over, you’ll get what you really want.”

Raine turned to get the kettle and started pouring tea, waiting until Lucierin sat back down to settle in the chair across from her and pass her a cup, “I do this because I have a debt to pay Lucierin, not to Cero, not to Kit… not even to Quel'thalas. My job is to heal. I do that by offering this farm, the trees to heal the Scar, the home here to heal those that need it. Anyone who steps foot on this land can claim sanctuary, all they have to do is break bread with me.”

The rogue paused, staring down at the loaf in her hands.  
  
“You have been lost so long,” Raine said quietly, “You have forgotten why it was that you were running, who it was that you betrayed them for. Stay here a bit… please. Just until you can tell me that much.”

“What if I can’t…?”

The words were the first she had spoken in a long time that sounded as if they had come from a lost little girl, the most honest she had ever been.

Raine smiled, “Then we will find another way to heal you.”  
  


* * *

“What are you afraid of Teacher?”

Mira flinched as Serene asked the question, “I… cannot tell you.”

“Can not? Or  _will_  not?” the ice-mage frowned, “You have been working on your blood augmentation experiment like a desperate person, even ignoring the research the  _General_  set us on… and you will not tell me the reason you’re so frightened,” she stared at Mira for a long moment, “…Leona says that the day you went to visit your sister, you came back late and you were crying.”

The blood mage took a deep breath and did not look up from her notes as Serene walked to Mira’s desk and picked up one of her notebooks, “The very next morning you abandoned work that the one person you  _actually listen_  to set you on, for something that we  _both_  declared a trivial pursuit… especially after the failure that was the experiment you performed.”

“I… am merely curious…" 

Serene adjusted her glasses, "No, you’re preparing. You have a specific application that you want for this. But sadly, augmenting someone with no skill or training in the arts does have consequences.”

“Not to mention the effects are not as trustworthy…”

“Your elder sisters are coming, as is the rest of the Legion?”

Mira looked up in shock to meet Serene’s smirk, “H…how…?”

“As long as I’ve been your student, you’d think I’d figure out your eccentricities by now. So I’m right,” the smirk faded as Serene adjusted her glasses, “And it’s obvious that you’ve been preparing. So what do we do now?”

Mira took a deep breath, “…it’s not ready. All my experiments are  _failing_ , and I can’t figure out…”

“It’s obvious. You can’t shock a system with sudden abilities. You need to adjust to slowly introduce to a new body. Take for instance your fire, injecting that into Varotin turned rather disastrous, because he had no idea how to control it… but if you were to fix a serum for one already inclined in arcane arts, then it would just be another element to them.”

The blood mage was already jotting down her notes and making new calculations, “Could it really be that  _simple_?”

Serene paused, chewing the inside of her cheek, “There’s only one way to truly find out isn’t there,” she moved to sit on the bed that most of their experimentation and blood drawing took place in and held up her arm, “If I can control your fire, I’d say it was a success.”

Mira took a deep breath, “Are you sure Celestigosa?”

The ice-mage flinched at her name, knowing it to be the highest form of consent that Mira could ask for, and took a deep breath, “I cannot call myself your student or Vel’s replacement if I am not willing to take such risks,” she said reaching up to remove her glasses, “Besides, what’s the saying,  _let’s fight fire with fire_. You’re going to need all the help you need, we all are, if you’re right about them coming.”


	24. Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kit and Luna just can't seem to stay out of it.

**Trouble**

Kit was… for lack of a better word… frustrated.  
  
She was certain of it this time, that dream was so vivid. But he wasn’t anywhere that the green dragons called home.  
  
“At least I got a bit of fun while out looking,” she sighed as she rested in Moonglade, “But damnit, I was sure that he…” she scrunched her nose in thought, trying to think of the dream again, “And it wasn’t the Nightmare or the other dream I have of Evie… it was something different, I just knew it.”  
  
She glanced up as a few druids passed her by and took out a few maps, “Lessee… I went to the Hinterlands, Feralas… and now here. I could go up to Dragonblight next, but I want to make sure that I looked everywhere before heading to Northrend ‘cause I gotta go to…” she frowned, looking closely at one of the markings she put on a map a long time ago.  
  
A very long time ago, she nearly had forgotten about that, that was before she had gone to visit Alandrine in the first place.  
  
“There IS another green dragon place!” she exclaimed happily, “But… it’s cursed. With troll stuff…”  
  
She grinned, “WELL! That’s why I have Big Brother Zobu! If anyone has any…” she hit her forehead, “Damnit, I shoulda gone to him FIRST! He’s better than Daddy is at finding people!  
  
Kit rolled up her maps and put them back in her bag, “Now if I can just find him… but he’s a druid now too, right? So they might know if I ask the head honchos here!”

* * *

 

“She has to be without a doubt, the  _worst_  fighter I have ever seen,” Annessa sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose, “How the hell does she expect to survive when…”

“She’s not,” the child Val'kyr next to her said flatly, “She isn’t going to be a fighter, which… is a good thing, at this point, she’d do more harm to her allies than her enemies.”

Both glanced over at Luna, who had abandoned her sword practice and was gleefully chasing a butterfly, “She has no mind! The smallest thing and her concentration is…”

“You keep thinking on her as someone that can join a regiment or holy order,” Eriesa said quietly, “Even when she was whole, she never was. The best was the one she nearly created, based on A'lar. And even then, the rules were to protect the children.”

The death knight frowned, “She’ll die if left to her own devices.”

“She’s managed to not die several times before.”  
  
“I made two vows to her safety, one to her Wings, and one to my company.”

“Then you best ensure she never has to fight.”

Annessa glared at the Val'kyr, who merely shrugged in response, “Her personal quest is to find and return lost children. It has nothing to do with the current situation of the world, and even if it were explained to her, I doubt that she’d understand. And we both tried explaining the interest the agents of Sylvanas have taken… you saw yourself it went straight over her head.”

The death knight frowned again, staring at the girl-phoenix that was little more than a child herself.

“Why the hell did I get myself involved…” she muttered, then sighed, “We have a choice, we could take her to Light’s Hope or Hearthglen, but both are far too close to Forsaken territories for my comfort, and I can’t trust that she can’t be drawn out. Or we could take her to the Blood Knights, trust in any friends that you have there…”

“But the same situation could occur, and who is to say that they would allow me to stay with her.”

“And for all your talk of finding a worthy master, you haven’t left her side once,” Annessa agreed, “ _Damnit_. The best option is to stay with her and find these damn missing kids. A quest that will never end because they’re all dead. And she is useless no matter  _what_  weapon I give her!”  
  
Eriesa glanced up at her and smiled, “There are other ways that she can fight. She was once a priestess… of sorts.”  
  


* * *

  
“You should seek out Master Pyreanor,” the blood knight at the Hall said to Luna and Annessa, trying very hard to not look directly at either one as the young novice swallowed, “Er… he’s the one that decides who can train here specifically… and gives out assignments…?”

Annessa ignored the discomfort, Luna was oblivious to it, “That’s great news!” she said to the death knight, “Master Pyreanor is apparently a friend of mine from before!”

“He  _is_?!?” squeaked the novice.

“Why am I not surprised?” Annessa sighed.

Luna clapped her hands, “Oh yes! Now then, I think…” she turned to Eriesa and held out her hand, “You keep all the business cards.”

The Val'kyr child rolled her eyes behind her face guard and fished one out of… somewhere that neither the novice or Annessa could catch, “His family runs a store in the Bazaar,” she said glancing over it.  
  
“Good, let’s go there.”

“Wait that’s…” the Novice started, ignored by both the death knight and val'kyr as they dragged the phoenix-girl away, “…the wrong Pyreanor…” she finished weakly as they went out of ear-shot, then glanced behind her, “I… guess I should report this to my superiors.”  
  
Meanwhile Luna was blithely skipping through the streets of Silvermoon, “The Faeries are so happy that I’ll officially be a knight,” she said to Annessa, “Even if some are worried about how I use a sword.”

“That comes with practice,” the death knight said, “The trick is getting you into the Order as an Initiate, then you can get a good teacher.”

“And out of your hair for a bit,” Eriesa said flatly, ignoring the glare sent her way for that, “Luna, are you certain that you want to…”

“ _No_  grumpy grumps!” Luna said, turning and grabbing the val'kyr’s cheeks and pulling them up, “We have to protect the Children, remember? And we can’t do that if we can’t fight!”

“Or if the Forsaken capture you both and put you in their laboratories,” Annessa crossed her arms and looked over the row of shops, “Alright, which one is it?”  
  
“No grumpy grumps from you either Nessie!” Luna said happily, then chewed on a finger a she looked them over, “Oh… er…”

Eriesa sighed, “Follow me,” she said as she pulled on one of Luna’s pigtails and floated towards one of the shop’s entrances.

“I’d be lost without you Ri-ri!”   
  
“Trust me when I say, I’m  _well_  aware of that.”

Annessa sighed in defeat as she followed them and rung the bell as they entered the shop.

“Hello!” Luna called happily, “Mister Pyreanor…”

“That’s Master,” Eriesa hissed, “He’s a champion not a…”

“I’m looking to become a Faerie Knight!” Luna continued, blithely ignoring her, “And was told at the Big Room of Justice…”

“That’s  _HALL of BLOOD_!”

“That to become an Tadpole, I’d have to talk to you!”

“Oh for fu…  _INITIATE_!”  
  
Annessa sighed, then glanced at the person behind the counter, “I’m just here to make sure these two don’t get themselves into more trouble.”

* * *

 

The three moved through the store like they did all things, Annessa glowering at anyone she caught staring at her, Eriesa ignoring any that were, and Luna skipping along and humming a happy tune.

“Hello!” she said when they got to Zandrae, clapping her hands behind her back, “Nessie thinks that I should train with the Blue Knots.”

Eriesa covered her face with her palm as the death knight sighed wearily and stepped forward, picking up Luna by the back of her neck and dropping her in a vacant chair, “Are you Master Pyreanor?” she asked in her hollow voice, “Luna thinks that you’re one of the voices she hears… which means one of the Wings, in which case, I have a favor to ask.”

“The Faeries says that he helped me get the last group to the Light,” Luna said cheerfully, “So this must be the right place.”

“I need her to join a order that the Forsaken  _can’t_  get in,” Annessa said, ignoring the phoenix girl, “Blood Knights seemed like a reasonable assumption, since the Argent do let some of them in.”

“The problem is she’s touched,” Eriesa said flatly, “Really has been since…”

“The  _problem_  is that Luna lacks discipline,” Annessa said, giving a quick glare to the Val'kyr, “When we went to request her to take a test to join the Initiates, we were directed to come to Master Pyreanor,” she crossed her arms, “Though I personally assume they mean the one in Orgrimmar. Except, what are the chances that he’ll take her in?” her eyes glanced downward, “As opposed to the chance you’ll give her.”

“Oh, right,” Luna was for some reason sitting upside down in the chair now, “Red-haired elves are related to cats or rabbits… I forget… but there’s a lot of them. And they all like being petted.”  
  
Annessa clenched her fists and counted to ten, before exhaling a deep breath, “I cannot stay and protect her at all times, it’s best she learn to take care of herself, hopefully before my Captain recalls me to duty.”

* * *

 

“Why are you going through your treasure?” Serene yawned as she came into Leona’s room, having come to ask how Tavern Night had gone the evening before.  
  
“Uncle Lyon and I are hiring Vel to look for Evirin so Kit can be happy again,” Leona’s legs were sticking out of the huge treasure chest the monk had gotten her for her birthday, “She said that she doesn’t accept money, only favors, but I thought I’d look to see if I had anything else that she might like.”

“There’s nothing in there but the primer for the raised runes and a stuffed lynx,” Serene raised an eyebrow and adjusted her glasses, “Oh, and that old blankie of yours.”  
  
“I thought the primer for a second, but Vel probably already has that. I do have something else,” a few seconds passed and the girl came out of the large box with a book, “This! Kit used to read it to me and Evie all the time!”

“… _Phoenix Star and the Dragons of the Moon_?” Serene read the title, “I know that series, but I never heard of that volume of it.”

“Kit said it was a special one, she got it when she lived at the orphanage still,” the small red-head hugged the book, “And… she gave it to me when I moved here, it’s my biggest treasure…” she chewed her bottom lip, “So it has to be worth  _something_ , right?”

“Don’t you  _dare_ ,” the mage thunked her forehead, “Mole, I’ll talk to Vel and pay your part of it. Since Varo and Mira are off, I’m in charge of you anyways, and she  _can’t_  make deals with minors, I’m surprised Ria allowed it.”

“But Bat…”

“No buts. I may not care about those idiots, but I’m not letting you give up something so precious.” Serene crossed her arms, “So put it back in your hoard and…” she paused, then smiled, “You want me to read it to you.”

Leona held it forward, “Please…? It is my favorite!"

* * *

_The armor-clad woman dove out of the way of the axe’s first swing, then stopped the second with her swords, “This one will not let you hurt her Lord,” she exclaimed, thrusting forward and shattering the golem attacking her as she rushed towards the one that controlled him._  
  
“Your lord will destroy us all!” the finely robed elementist screamed, his hands going above his head and glowing as he started to summon lightning and fire, “He is a dragon that will…”

_His channeling stopped as she reached him, “A dragon he may be, but he is still this one’s Lord and you will not touch him,” she said, “Now return his princess and leave this place or this one will…”_

“What are you reading?”

Leona paused her fingers and turned towards Serene, “The mailman brought it for me,” she said happily, “And it’s in the letters that you and Aura made so I can read,” she moved her hand to touch a piece of paper with raised runes beside the book written in the same language, “No name from who sent it, but they said that they wrote it  _just_  for me. It’s really good, about a knight that protects a dragon and a princess from all sorts of bad guys. Right now she’s fighting an elementist that wants to use the Princess’s magic to summon something  _really bad_.”

Serene blinked, then ran her fingers along the letters on the page and shook her head, “This knight sounds fascinating,” she said, looking down at Leona, “There are only a few who have the primer for this, so that narrows it down. Want me to find out for you?”

“No, I like being surprised, and maybe they’ll write another one,” Leona smiled, “I want to be  _just_  like the knight, she’s so strong and fearless. And she uses two swords too. And there’s talk of her having a dark secret, I wonder what it is!”

“You’ll just have to read and find out then, I guess,” Serene chuckled and ruffled the little warrior’s hair, “Alright Mole, I’m going to go check on a few things in the laboratory, if you get hungry, just bang on the door.”

“I think I’ll read some more,” Leona turned her attention back to the book, “Mama sent a letter saying she and Papa will be back tomorrow by the way.”

Serene adjusted her glasses and smiled softly at the little girl sitting in the far too big for her chair, “Alright, I’ll make sure the experiments are all ready for her. Enjoy your book!”

The red-head made a small affirmative sound, her fingers were already flying onto the raised runes.

_“Princess, are you alright?”_

_The woman dressed in fine robes and jewels looked from the knight to the dragon and giggled in a light musical voice, “How can I not be, with my precious ones fighting so hard for me?”_   
  


* * *

“ _Yah_!” Leona went to her knees, rolling out of the way of a strike from Varotin and made her counterattack from behind, striking at his knees and standing in a fluid motion.

“Good job!” he said from his position face down in the dirt, throwing up a thumb’s up, “That’s a new record.”

“Papa, that’s the second day in a row I defeated you like that,” she said quietly, “Is something wrong?”

“It’s such an impressive move that I’m in awe every time that you use it,” he rolled over and slowly sat up, grinning at her, “Let’s move on to strikes…”

“Not now,” both turned towards Mira who was standing on the edge of the courtyard, “Leona, you have a visitor in the parlor.”

Varotin frowned at the tone of her voice, but for some reason Leona didn’t catch it, and smiled, “We’ll practice strikes after I talk to them Papa! Oh…” she blushed, “Mama, is it alright if I go now? Or should I take a bath first?”

“Go now,” Mira took a breath before she answered, keeping her voice as calm as she could, “It seemed important.”  
  
The girl nodded and ran inside, heading straight to the little room off of the main hall that was designated mostly as the bedtime story room, and smiled as she sensed who was in there.

“Mr. Orin, right?” she said to the death knight that stood waiting, “You’re one of Kit’s crew, but…” she frowned, “What are you doing here?”

He looked her over, then pulled out a scroll from his belt, “Captain left some very clear directions,” he said quietly, “Which on one hand, is a relief considering how she usually pilots her ship, but on the other…” his voice trailed off.  
  
“ _Directions_? What for?” Leona tilted her head, there was a deep sadness in his tone, one she didn’t understand. Kit stood for happiness and fun, why was her trusted crew officer…  
  
“In the case that we had no word from her, and she was gone a week, I was to bring this to you,” he held the scroll out, “As of right now, you are acting Captain of the Trust and in charge of Sunsoul Deliveries and Finding.”

“What do you mean no word?” Leona paled, “She was here a…” her voice trailed off, it  _had_  been over a week since Kit visited then left to search for Evirin, “But wasn’t she on…”

No, there had been no bad jokes, no teasing,  _nothing_  from Kit on the communicators in all that time.  
  
“I even waited longer than I was meant to,” he growled, “She set this up so that her Winter Veil Tourney will go on as planned. The standing orders are to head to Icecrown and continue setting it up.”

“Then… let me go talk to Papa and Mama,” Leona swallowed, “I’ll meet you up there.”

“Do you want one of us to escort you?”

She shook her head, “No, I’ll need to ask someone for help anyways. I’ll be there the day after tomorrow,” she clutched the scroll to her chest as he bowed and turned to leave, “Wa…wait… how long did Kit give you?”

He paused, “Don’t ask that.”

She shook her head, “No, I  _want_  to know. How long did Kit give you before she ordered you to declare her dead?!?”  
  
Orin took a deep breath, “It won’t happen. She’ll bring back her lost one long before it does.”

“How long?” Leona asked, her voice stronger this time.

“The Captain has given me a month. If I don’t hear from her before that time is up, I have five other scrolls to deliver.”  
  
With that he walked out of the house and Leona slumped to the floor.

She swallowed, clutched the scroll a little more tightly and stood. First things first, read the scroll, get Kit’s special tourney organized.

Then go and find her big sister and pull her by the hair back here. And it didn’t matter to her just how much fire she had to go through to get her out.


	25. Room to Breathe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At least they don't stay in trouble for long...

**Room To Breathe**

Leona was trying her very best not to go and hug Kit the second that she sensed the older girl.  
  
It helped that she was still angry and hurt, though she did give the monk some concession, she had come straight here first after all, though she did say she sent a letter to Judessa on the way.  
  
“So… um, yeah…” Kit crossed her arms, “I promised Vel that I’d at least wait until she tracked down Daddy and…”

“Why didn’t you seek him out first?” Mira asked quietly, and Leona could feel Kit’s large blush at that as Serene snorted.  
  
The four were in the office of Kit’s small delivery and retrival company, Mira and Serene having brought Leona over the morning after Kit’s sheepish return.  
  
“To be fair, the General is hard to find Mama,” the small bladedancer in training supplied, “You complained about that before too.”  
  
Kit seemed grateful at that, though Serene had busied herself with some documents, judging by the shuffling of paper, to keep herself from commenting.  
  
Mira sighed, “That is true…” she glanced over at Kit, “And I have been known to seek out Varotin myself…” she shook her head, “Still, it was a dangerous and callous thing that you did. I’m only glad that Vel found you before you had gotten yourself into too much trouble.”  
  
Leona frowned and tugged at Serene’s elbow, who glanced up and adjusted her glasses.  
  
“Teacher, we do have some research to attend to,” the scribe said, squeezing Leona’s shoulder as she placed down the documents, “I’m certain that the Mage-Commander and the General will both have things to say to Kit when she reports.”

“Yeah… I probably should go back to the Garrison for a bit anyways,” Kit took a deep breath, “Uh…”

“Can I stay for a bit Mama?” Leona asked, “Kit promised to show me a few things.”  
  
“Just be home for dinner,” Mira smiled, “Serene and I will be busy with our research, so we will probably order out.”  
  
Serene breathed a sigh of relief and paused as she followed the blood-mage out, “Kaelona, disappear like that again, and I’ll freeze your blood,” she said quietly, “And I imagine that I will only be in a  _long_  line of people that will do similar actions,” she nodded, then glanced to Leona, “Be back a bit before dinner, we need to save some money for Winter Veil’s celebrations.”

Kit watched them go and sighed, “I wasn’t trying to hurt anyone…” she started, her cheeks puffed out, then looked at Leona, “But I  _did_. And then Vel looked at me like I was crazy when I said my lead was from a dream.”

“Most people probably would,” Leona said smiling, “But few know that you hate dreams.”  
  
“Yeah, but I haven’t had it again,” Kit sighed, “So I can’t get any more clues…”

“Don’t they teach a breathing exercise at the Peak that lets you,” the small girl’s nose scrunched in thought, “A vision-breathing thing or something? I think it has to do with tea. I read about it in one of the books that Serene translated for me from Lorewalker Cho.”  
  
She yelped as Kit picked her up, “ _Genius!_ ” the monk said happily, then paused, “Except… I really sucked at the meditating… Teach was always getting onto me about sitting still.”

“Then…” Leona grinned, “We train THAT! Stay a bit with us and practice with Papa and me, and then we can both practice that and send a message to the Peak…” her face fell, “But you have to go back to Draenor and let Judessa know everything.”

“I’ll come straight back,” Kit promised, “I’m pretty sure he’s here in Azeroth anyways, and Orin and Mr. Mmmgrrrrrl out there,” she nodded to the lobby door where Leona knew the death knight and murloc were waiting, “Are pretty much threatening to never leave me alone again, so I’ll go and make my reports to Mama Farflight, take whatever punishment I deserve for this whole mess,” she rubbed the back of her head, “Cause yeah… I fucked up  _big time_ … and then come here and wait for Vel to find Daddy anyways, and then get back on the search. Besides that, I left a message for Big Brother Zobu in our usual spot, so he’ll be coming here anyways when he gets that.”

Leona nodded, “I can send a message to Teacher, I trained under him for a few months,” she supplied, “He’ll be happy to help, right?”

Kit ruffled her hair, “More than happy. He was pleased as punch that I started wearing the armor we made together. I actually stayed there longer than I meant doing some training with him that he insisted on…” she tilted her head, “I wonder if he was buying time for Vel to get there…”

The smaller Sunsoul giggled, then paused, “Oh… there’s something else. I need you to tell Judessa something for me.”

Kit tilted her head, “Oh?” she grinned, “Don’t tell me  _you’re_  gonna run away too…”

“Nothing like that, but since…” she swallowed, then Leona reached up to get Kit to bend down so she could whisper, “I… I need you to tell Judessa that I meant another dragon. A really nice one.”

At Kit’s surprised look, Leona slipped a folded piece of paper into her hand, “That’s my report on the matter, I… wasn’t going to tell her, but…” she smiled, “I don’t think that any of us should keep secrets from each other. It doesn’t help, and we’re all family.”  
  
“Yeah,” Kit grinned, though her tone was sorrowful, “Remind me to take a few lickings from Uncles over my idiocy too. You…” she looked at Leona, “You told them  _all_ , didn’t you.”  
  
“It was the responsible thing to do,” the red-head said.  
  
Kit chuckled, “I’m so glad I have a kid sister like you keeping me out of trouble.”

“If the Captain wasn’t such a brat and listened to others, she’d keep herself out of trouble,” came the gravelly voice of Orin from the other room.  
  
Both Kit and Leona grinned at that.  
  


* * *

“All right, it seems there have been no side effects thus far,” Mira said quietly as she put away her stethoscope, “How have you been reacting to the flames?”

“Rather well considering,” Serene flexed her fingers, “The dosages burn as they go in, but other than that, I haven’t observed anything… in fact, one of the Personalities seem to rather enjoy being a pyromaniac.”

Mira paled, “I hadn’t thought of that, is it Your Strength or Your Passion that…”

“Neither, it’s been Sweet,” Serene sighed, “I think perhaps she’s tired of being protected.”

“Should we be worried about how you use Mirror Image?”

Her student frowned, “No, I have it under control. They’ve stopped randomly appearing unless I summon them.”

Mira made a few notes, “You  _have_  seemed more stable as of late. Now then, on to other matters,” she flipped her notebook, “Your opinion on Leona’s new friend?”

“I don’t think we have much to worry about,” Serene adjusted her glasses as she sat up, “She seemed to respect Mole’s wishes enough to not come and take her in the night, though I imagine that she will try and convince her to go with her through their agreed upon visits,” she frowned, “I’m more worried about her and Varotin’s reactions to meeting one another than anything else.”

“So you have transcribed the notes I made on the memory dream during that time of healing,” Mira turned towards her and chewed the inside of her cheek, “I doubt that it will be an issue,” she took a deep breath, “And for now, I am choosing to not report her appearance to the General, unless Leona wishes to tell him herself. I have a feeling that he will be busy with other matters soon enough.”

Serene tapped her fingers on the couch, “And there’s  _no_  chance that this will come back to bite us…?”

“Of the list of things that are coming back to bite us, I doubt Leona making friends with one of the two only other black dragons left in Azeroth is going to be high on that list,” Mira sighed, “And she did have a point, as did Judessa… what  _can_  we teach her?”

The apprentice mage snorted and stood, going to a shelf above Mira’s personal desk, “Quite a bit I think,” she said as she pulled out the small collection of stone animals there, “ _Personally_  I think the two of you, scattered brained and idiotic as you  _are_ ,” she held up the folder that Mira was keeping of Leona’s lessons and the height charts for both forms, “are doing a grand job of raising her.”  
  
"Continue taking the medicine, though I’d like for you to gradually decrease the dosages,” Mira said quietly, “I don’t want to risk any long term effects.”

Serene smiled, “I’ll be careful Teacher. We have to be prepared for what’s coming after all.”

The blood mage frowned, made a few more notes, “I don’t want you caught up in it.”

“And as I explained to you before,” her student crossed her arms, “I’m not giving you a  _choice_.”  
  


* * *

“Lieutenant, no signs of any other cult members in the area.”

Annessa growled under her breath, “The Alliance and Horde forces defeated Ephial months ago, I doubt there would be any signs left,” the elfin death knight stood waiting and she waved, “Ensure that the area is secure, we don’t want people stumbling in on Novan’s research.”

“I didn’t know you cared Sister,” the cheerful necromancer chirped from where he was looking at the closed off mine.

“I  _don’t_ ,” she snapped, then frowned more deeply as the dark phoenix on her shoulder nipped at her ear, “Don’t  _you_  start,” she chided Luna, then crossed her arms as the death knight ran back to his orders, “Exactly why are we here Novan?”

The pale ex-Magister turned to his sister and smiled, ignoring her more somber glare, “Those flowers the holy girl makes you suit you rather nicely,” he said then looked back at the mine, “Interesting…  _very_  interesting…”

She fought back the constant urge to throw something at him, then glanced back to the haunted garrison they were near, “I agree with the official reason we came here, it’s very unlikely that Ephiel was the only one behind this. Those Scourge cults usually have a few members before they take on a mission… yet all evidence points to him working alone, infiltrating and seducing…”

“As always Nessa, you take on an entirely too simple approach. Which is probably the reason Father signed you up for joining the ranks of blade breakers…” he turned back to his staring at the mine and she turned towards him again, “I always had wondered at why I couldn’t raise Alana…”

“Novan?”

He glanced over at her, “Luna, would you be so kind?”

The phoenix on her shoulder glided off of her shoulder towards the ground, bursting into flame as the bubbly girl with dark pigtails and dark robes stepped barefoot onto the grass, “Do you want a flower crown too Mr. Novan?”

“Do you remember when Eriesa first joined your…” he shook his head, “Forgive me, it had slipped my mind that your memories no longer exist. Where is that little Val'kyr anyways?”

Annessa blinked, not realizing that she hadn’t seen her today either. And that was strange, normally she stayed with Luna, nervous to even let her out of her sight.

“That’s a good sign,” Eriesa said as she appeared next to Luna, “If I can fool  _you_ , then I might be able to pass undetected.”

Novan just smiled and pointed at the mine, “I think it has more to do with this than anything, your invisibility spell still has traces. Now then. What do you two sense about this?” he stepped back as Luna stepped forward, staring with wide eyes at the mine.  
  
Then she grabbed her head and reeled back, “They’re crying!”   
  
Annessa had drawn her scythe, and Novan placed a hand on her wrist, “I thought so,” he said, the smile fading from his lips as his face darkened, “You noticed right?”

She whirled back to the town, “An entire settlement. It was a working colony that the Alliance are so fond of doing, militant in only that an outpost gets settled… once it is…”

“There weren’t many, but there were frontier children here,” he finished, “Much like the one we decimated in the Fjord.”

Her scrythe lowered and she frowned, “They were taken to the mine, so that they would be safe… a usual tactic of defense. Except…”

“Ephiel has had some news of Eriesa as well it seems. He had them die in a special way. You and I can still feel the suffering in the air.”  
  
Annessa frowned, “This was an  _experiment,_ not a _mission!_ ”

“Now the question remains,” Novan watched Luna start to dig into the collapsed mine, desperately trying to get to the Faeries that were still trapped in there, “Who was Ephiel working for? Was it the Cult of the Damned?”

“Or was it the Dark Lady? Or  _worse_ ,” Annessa turned to Novan, “Was it one of our own order?”

“Nah, I’m the only one that would attempt something like _this_. And you know how I am about killing children.”

“Only the ones in your  _own_  family.”

“I was so  _certain_  that I could raise Alana. It worked with you,” he glanced at her, then smiled, “But it seems children  _can_  be free of the Scourge. They have some level of protection there. At least until, as Luna says, they lose their ‘faces,’ but  _then_  what happens?”

Luna was still digging into the mine, trying to clear the collapsed dirt and rubble, “I’m coming, please hold on…”  
  
“Stop,” Annessa said, then looked to where a few of her squadron were posted, “Deathwind, Chillpike, clear that entrance before she hurts herself further.”

“Yes Lieutenant,” both said as the tauren and elf moved, the larger one grabbing Luna by underneath her arms and plopping her down next to the tree as the other grabbed a nearby shovel.

Both made quick work of the stone and dirt blocking the entrance and stepped back, nearly getting knocked down by the girl running past them into the tunnel.  
  
“Exactly  _how_  did Eriesa get created…?” Novan mused, “If Ephiel’s careful ceremony didn’t work, then what did  _that_  child do to get herself a Val'kyr.”

Both Annessa and Eriesa gave him a cautious worried glance, both frowning until he smiled and clapped his hands, “Not that it matters to me!” he said cheerfully, “I like raising things the hard way! It’s so much more fun!”  
  


* * *

“Alright Evie, this is day thirty of my trying to meditate,” Kit sighed as she talked into the communicator, “No word from Vel on what Daddy said yet, and Orin has me still locked in the office…” she stuck out her tongue, “As if I’d break a promise anyways…”

She put the device down and took a deep breath, “Alright, alright, concentrating…” she said as she sat down on a pillow and pulled her legs on each other.  
  
Teach’s words came back to her,  _“Breathe, let everything go, let the Chi lead you to where you need to be…”_  
  
Her eyes closed as her hands made the symbols he taught her such a long time ago.

In truth, this was much harder than lighting the candle. Kit was never one for patience or for sitting still, and while she learned the dance-like fighting styles easily enough, learning the more mystical arts of the Peak had nearly always alluded her.

It was part of why she was always so awed by Vel.  
  
Leona had been happy to help, but there were some things that couldn’t be helped with. This task was Kit’s alone.  
  
It took  _forever_.  
  
She nearly had it at least… _ignore that itching nose, no, no there is nothing going on outside the window, that shouting has nothing to do with you… just regular business in the Exchange… YES you did turn off the oven._

**Let go.**

She took another deep breath and started mentally cleaning out her head, holding on to one thing, _Learn to do this and save the Ass._

_Breathe in._

_Breath out._

_Let go._  
  
Her fingers kept moving in the hand signals, her mouth started to chant the mantras that Teach had once tried to instil in her… carefully relearned and taught once more to Kit by Leona and Varotin. The smaller girl had drug her adopted father to the Peak, taking great pride in her new mission…

_No, don’t think on that now. Clearing the head, remember? The Ass needs us to not lose focus._

She frowned, pausing in her hand motions, stilling even her breath.

Everything went white.  
  
 _“Talon, come on!” a small girl yelled, “We gotta find the way out of here!”_

_“Kit!” another girl exclaimed, a twin to the first in every way except for her hair was a darkish blue instead of the fiery red, “I found something!” she glanced warily into the door of the keep, “Or someone…”_  
  
The first girl frowned, then doubled back, standing on her tiptoes to peer over the other girl’s shoulder, “This wasn’t here before…”

_“Things keep changing,” the other girl pointed out, then both grinned, “Bet there’s something good in here.”_

_“Bet there’s treasure and stuff. Maybe even that cure for Daddy we’re looking for!”_

_“And if the cure for Daddy is in there, so’s the one for Auntie Lore!”_

_“And a way back. But…” Kit glanced in once more, “It’s dark in there, I can’t see very far.”_

_“Say no more, stand back,” Talon clapped her hands and there was a flash of purple light and smoke, revealing a small bird of dark flames as the smoke cleared._

_Kit applauded and Talon flew to her shoulder, and both entered._

“CAPTAIN!”  
  
Her eyes blinked open as the death knight that was shaking her slumped against her desk, “I had thought the worst,” he growled, “You had stopped breathing.”

Kit winced as she sat up, “I think I actually did it,” she rubbed her chest to try and give pause to some of the pain there, “But the wrong way… that was…” she pinched the bridge of her nose, taking a deep breath, “That was right before Luce stopped trusting Daddy…”

“You were near death, so you were hallucinating,” he stood, “No more of those exercises. I’m certain that you’re doing it wrong.”

“But if I go back, then I’d find out what happened.”

“ _It’s not your business_ ,” he snapped, “That… curse or whatever it is waits for you to close your eyes. This meditation is not helping, that dream you had was just…” he waved his hand, “It was a trick to pull you in further! Just like that ghost that nearly got you…”

“Orin I know what the Nightmare feels like and this wasn’t it!”  
  
He paused, took a deep breath and mentally counted to ten before he answered, “Captain… you promised Vel not to look any further until you heard from your father. This counts.”

“It doesn’t…”

“It  _does_. For your safety, I must recommend that you stop or I shall report this…” he frowned for a moment, “I will report you to your Uncle Theravir.”

Kit gasped, “You  _wouldn’t_!”

“I will. Until such time as your father has contacted you, you shall  _not_  make any more attempts to contact the Lord Evirin except for your daily blathering to him on your communicator. If I suspect that you are doing any more searching for him or for the reason that Lucierin feels the way she does, then I will take action.  _First_ , I will report to my direct superior in the matter, and in this case, that is Theravir and Lyon. Then I will report to  _your_  direct superior, Judessa,” he paused, “Then I shall inform Vel that you broke your promise and  _tell Leona_  that you are risking your life and sanity.”

A long moment passed as the girl puffed out her cheeks and glared at him, then…

“FINE! You  _win_! I won’t do it anymore!” she slumped, “Besides, it took me a MONTH to get this far,  _IT DIDN’T WORK ANYWAYS_!”

He smiled, “That’s my Captain Brat. When you are done throwing your tantrum, I have some recommendations for our crew on Azeroth.”  
  


* * *

Master…

The word had a special meaning for Mira. Ever since she was little, it was someone to please, someone that her sisters would pine for just a glance from.

That master scared her, instead of the heartfelt sighs they had, she shivered whenever he was mentioned in that house. When it was time for her Ritual of Passage…

Mira frowned, shaking her head as she reached for the next book, best not to think of that any longer, it was in the long ago…  _very_  long ago… past.  
  
Besides Master had new meaning for her now.  
  
She followed the sounds of practice swords clanging against each other and sat on the edge of the courtyard to read, one eye on the two as she opened her book.  
  
The sparring match was soon over, and Leona reluctantly went to clean up before running errands, “She’s getting rather good,” Mira commented as she turned a page.  
  
Varotin grinned, “I’ll have to work harder so it’s not so easy for her,” he said then plopped next to the blood witch, “Studying  _again_?”  
  
“Serene’s taking to the fire augmentation rather well, my other experiments for offensive abilities are in place, now I’m working on some more defensive plans…” she made a quick note then glanced at him, “For instance, I need to formulate some sort of antidote for the venom that the succubi and felhunters will be using if we go against them… a vaccine of sorts would be even better. If we can create antibodies that nullify the effects of the venom…” she sighed, “I’m sorry, I promised no work when I’m with you.”

“Besides, you bit me enough times for me to have lots of those antibodies by now,” he pointed at his shoulder and she turned beet red.

“Th…that doesn’t  _count_!” she hissed as her hands flew to her face, “I barely broke skin… and the venom’s in the  _tail_!”  
  
“But you don’t have a tail.”

“No… not since I became a doll…” her ears lowered, “It doens’t matter. Varo, there is one thing I wanted to ask you about. Kit mentioned that Leona’s birthday is soon… what does that mean?”

His eyes widened and he hit his head, “No one ever celebrates them, no wonder you…” he grinned, “We gotta get a present, a GOOD one, did Kit mention what day it was?”

“Uh… Jan…” Mira glanced at her notes, “January twenty-fourth…” she chewed the inside of her cheek, “She asked if we were going to have a party… how come Cero didn’t mention… how come  _she_  didn’t mention it last year?”

“All the stuff that was going on, she’s the type to not bring attention to herself,” Varotin held out his hand, “Make me a note.”

“Another burn!” she looked at the series of scars that she had already cauterized into the flesh, “But…”

“No big deal! Besides, that way I can’t forget!” he paused, “Put your birthday there too!”

“But I…” she blushed, “I don’t have one!”

“Oh right…” he thought for a moment, “Then put in the day that you woke up from Cero’s experiment, you remember what it was, right?”

She bit her lower lip, “I…” she glanced down, “I remember.”

“Good. Now hurry up, we have to plan Lea’s party.”

“Varotin!” she argued but still took his arm and let some flames dance from her fingers to his flesh, burning in the numbers that marked the dates, “No more than this.”

He crossed his heart with his other hand and picked her up when she was done, “Alright, so I know you’ve got that armor being worked on, but that’s too practical for a present…”

Mira sighed, then closed her eyes as she was carried away.

Master… a strange one, one that refused to command, but still Master, one that ruled her with love instead of fear.  
  
“The best kind,” she murmured, leaning up to kiss his cheek.

“Mira! Stop daydreaming about those experiments and pay attention! This is  _important_!”

* * *

“Alright, let’s go over the checklist,” Kit said as she sat crosslegged on the floor in her office, “Rope.”

“We have about two hundred yards,” Leona said as the elder girl marked on the scroll she was looking over, “Kit… are you…”

“Next up, lanterns, we need one and the oil for a good five hours for each couple…” she marked it as she glanced over at the desk, “We don’t have that many coming, so seven ought to be enough right? Okay,” she looked back at the scroll, “Grappling hooks and climbing gear?”

“Uh… I’m counting a few dozen sets…” Leona chewed the inside of her cheek, “But isn’t this…”

“Some people are going to share, so we should be good on that. I’ll inform Daddy’s contacts that we might need a last minute seller…” she scrunched her nose, “ _Better yet_ , I’ll ask Rubi if she wants to set up shop. Last minute gifts and all that. So last things… bedrolls and rations?”

“Er… yes on both counts, the large bedrolls for couples were delivered yesterday…” Leona took a deep breath, “KIt, are you sure that a couple’s night out is…” she paused for a second, then sighed, her ears flopping, “I don’t think a night exploring a haunted Caer is particularly  _meant_  to be romantic.”

Kit giggled then stood up, “Course it is! Just imagine, you’re…” she glanced at Leona, “At  _least_  fifty years older cause quite frankly I’m gonna have to kick someone’s ass before that… but you’re traveling with a really cute guy or girl and exploring some neat ruins… maybe there’s treasure inside or something… and all of a sudden something jumps out at you! They shriek! Hops in your arms! You cleave the beast and then…”

“I punch the idiot for getting in the way?”

“No! You kiss!”

Leona covered up her eye, “Adults are  _weird_.”

“No! I promise! It’s romantic! It’s FUN getting scared and stuff too!”

“Did you hear the  _stories_  that Miss Ofelia told about that place!? Why would they want…” Leona lifted the bandage from her good eye and stared at Kit, “You did tell them that the romantic Love is in the Air Tavern Night is going to be at Caer Darrow… right?”  
  
She rubbed the back of her head, “I… may have left some details out…”

“KIT!”

“It’ll be fun! Promise! Besides, the location doesn’t actually matter…”

Leona groaned, “I’m going to go get some bottled fire from Mama…” she said as she walked out the door, “If the Uncles weren’t coming, I might go get some holy water from Auntie Raine.”

“That’s actually not a bad idea…” Kit tapped her chin as her nose scrunched up again, “Wonder what sort of toys Mama Farflight has for this sort of thing…”  
  


* * *

Mira walked to her desk and pulled out her growing number of journals recording her observations… specifically the ones regarding the various couples she had noted in Silvermoon.

She sat down and then opened a drawer, running her hand across the small verdant spheres in there until she came to one that was a paler green than the others, “Mira’s thought processes based upon practical research of mortal customs, volume one thousand and ninety five,” she began as she held it to her mouth, “The bonding of two or more persons in what the mortals call a romantic engagement. While lust is not an unknown…” she blushed, “ _Mostly_  not unknown… to the demons of the Legion, very few have ever connected a bond with another for reasons outside of procreation. My mother herself had thirteen children, and for the most part, we all have different fathers… the exception being my brother and myself, for reasons unknown, mother had a second liaison with the paternal donator of my genetic material,” she paused, “For that matter, considering recent research, is it right to call her a  _‘mother’_  or should I begin referring to her as the maternal donator… this warrants more research into the matter and a further looking into my bonding with the ones in my care. Certainly Orah is correct in telling me to no longer call my sisters family… I have much research in the interactions between Leona and the two she considers sisters to prove that much beyond a shadow of doubt. Besides, there is more than enough evidence between Orah and the Young Mistress Kaelona to prove that blood is  _not_  the key decider in a family.”

Mira frowned for a moment, then chewed her bottom lip, “Returning to the research and conclusion, the query… what is love and is it possible for a demon to show feelings of love and affection with no desire of ulterior motives? Subject, bonding not related to maternal or paternal ties, nor a platonic based relationship, but one that requires a good deal of what I, being a succubus once belonging to the Legion,” she frowned, “Or rather, what one would  _assume_  that a succubus belonging to the Legion would know a great deal about. True, falling to Mistress Kerri’s more carnal desires was easily done, but when it came to…” she blushed, “…even with the return of my memories, I am  _woefully_  under-skilled in many areas,” she said in a whisper, “Nor do I desire to broaden my skills, except to… as Varotin so eloquently puts it, play. There is no motive other than the enjoyment between ourselves and the learning of each other.”

She tapped her fingers on the sphere and stared into the swirls for a long moment, “A second subject, what we do when not engaged in carnal activities. True we have little in the way of common interests, yet, he fascinates me when he speaks. What we do have in common is a curiosity, and I find that hearing new discoveries from his lips… even if the research is whether or not Forsaken and Scourge defecate… amazingly interesting. I have even recorded volumes seven hundred and fifteen and nine hundred and forty two based purely on Varotin’s observations.”

Mira chewed the inside of her cheek, “Cero I do apologize if you have already listened to those without prior warning.”

“Second Query, what exactly is the next step in a relationship like this? If this is love that I feel for Varotin, because I do not view him as a vessel for power or seek him for nutritional value… then should I attempt this 'marriage’ that I have heard about. Sadly, results are inconclusive for what exactly is a marriage. I have heard everything from the Young Mistress’s explanation of best friends, to the words of Lady Ofelia when she bonded Teacher Theravir and Master Lyon, to Ava’s use of the thing as a ploy for power and a more defensible position, to Lady Raine’s marriage that was meant to protect her, to the second marriage of Lady Raine that was quite frankly rushed and without thought, to the Admiral’s marriage that seems to keep the Countess Glacierwind happy in gifts as her husband pretends to groan over.”

She sighed, “Sadly, Cero refuses to share his thoughts on the matter, at least with me. My students have some sort of bond… but whether or not it is the same type of marriage that I have heard of is unknown. Serene is stubbornly protective of any useful information that I could glean from their relationship.”  
  
“Conclusion,” she reached on her desk for a small black case, “There are many different types of this sort of bonding. And if I truly wanted to find out which hypothesis is correct… then,” she smiled, “It seems that I should attempt further  _personal_  research. Perhaps going so far as to ask Varotin to wedding me.”

She placed down the box and turned the sphere around in her hands, “This is the last of my observations… at least that I shall report to you directly Cero. You only gave me so many of these fascinating spheres after all. I… am unsure as to whether or not our experiment was a success in your eyes. I am certainly not the same one that you summoned all those years ago, but nor am I… at least I do not think I am… the same doll that you remade me into. My observations have shown me a great deal more than either one of those existences. And thus… your experiment ends inconclusively, I am still unsure as to whether or not I feel these emotions or if I am merely reacting to the environment that I have been placed in,” she took a deep breath, placing down the sphere as it turned the same dark green as the rest sitting neatly in her drawer, all waiting to be packed away and shipped to Cero.  
  
“At least… I like to think that I have finally become more than just a doll  _pretending_ to be mortal…”


	26. Searching

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mira takes on some missions to prepare for the incoming invasion, and Leona helps out Kit with her search.

**Searching**

Mira was mumbling as she quickly wrote notes in her journal, not noticing the monk creeping behind her and climbing the tree until he hung upside down and snatched the book from her lap, “You’re working too hard!”

She took a deep breath, “And you’re not working enough,” she sighed and smiled, “Hasn’t Cero given you a job?”

“Yup. Best job in the world, I’m  _Papa,_ ” he grabbed her and lifted both of them to sit on the tree branch he was hanging on, “What are these?” he pointed at the stick figures she had been drawing.

“I’m trying to make you a guide, in case we run into my sisters,” she frowned, “You for some reason aren’t learning to read as well as I hoped.”

“More fun when you and Lea read to me,” he kissed her neck then tilted his head at the drawing, “They don’t look so scary.”  
  
Mira sighed, “They don’t look so scary because I can’t draw,” she hit her head against his chest, “Varotin, those two are of the most powerful succubi in the Legion.”  
  
“Oh! You’re still worried about that,” he grinned and tilted her chin up, “Nope. Not a problem. They won’t even turn my head,” he held up the drawing, “For one… they’re flat…” he blinked as she snatched the drawing and scribbled a few large circles, “They can’t be bigger than you. They’d fall over.”

“Tell that to Luna,” Mira grumbled, “And they’re experts at making a man’s fantasies…” she puffed out her cheeks, “You’re not paying attention!”  
  
“Why would I even glance at goofy looking girls that can’t walk,” he asked yawning, “Besides, don’t need any fantasies, I got the best one of them right in front of me.”  
  
Mira opened her mouth to argue and he took the chance to strike.

* * *

 

Vel still hadn’t contacted her about Cero, which meant she hadn’t found him yet, and Orin had put a stop to her Tavern Night plans of a romantic haunted adventure.

Kit was bored out of her skull, incredibly frustrated, and near frantic with worry.

She had promised too many people to not run off on her leads, which everyone but Leona had seemed like wild goose chases.

Even Mira and Raine didn’t seem to see the dream as a definite enough clue to follow up on. Normally they defended her wanderlust inspired adventures.

“Luce woulda believed me,” she grumbled then yawned, “She’d prolly have found Daddy by now too. She’s better than Luna at that.”

She sighed, it has been nearly two years since she last saw her “twin,” and mentally added that to the growing number of people that needed finding.

Though Luce may not want to be found, the last anyone had heard of her was when she burned Zan’s family home. And the last time the two of them had talked, Luce had made it clear that she thought Kit was a fool for trusting Cero and falling in love with Evirin.

She yawned again, it was barely morning and she was already tired. Being stuck with paperwork to set up Sunsoul Adventure was not what she had in mind when she came to Silvermoon! her plan was to get it started, then run off and look for Evie.

But she promised…

And while Vel’s promise only held her here until Cero was found, and Leona’s was that she wouldn’t leave until she had a plan, she regretted both.

“I’d be worse than scum if I broke them, besides that, I promised Mama Farfight and both Uncles I’d stay out of trouble.”

Too many promises to stay still and safe… The only person that hasn’t asked such a thing had been Cero! and Kit had a sinking suspicion that it was because he was still busy with whatever research he was working on.

“Something  _terribly_  important more than likely,” she sighed again.

Kit frowned and took another sheet of paper from the stack Orin had left on her desk.

One thing was for certain, after Evirin came back, she was hiring a damn secretary! No more paperwork for her!  
  


* * *

They made an odd foursome as they made their way towards the Northeastern coast, the hooded death knight, the pale murloc, the small girl with bandages over her eyes and twin practice swords, and the elder girl that was grinning as she walked, “This’ll be great!” Kit assured everyone, “Mmmgrrl will negotiate with the few that are there and we’ll build up our little harbor here and…”

“Only you,” Orin sighed, “Would buy land infested with murlocs.”  
  
“It can’t be that bad,” Leona said quietly, “Er…” she glanced at Kit’s first mate, “Will they listen to you?”  
  
He garbled and made some gestures, and she chewed her bottom lip as Orin cursed under his breath.  
  
Kit was oblivious, “And that’ll give Dusty some room to run around, we’ll build the barn over by the hill, and the  _Trust Too_ …”

“If we’re doing this foolish errand and building here instead of using the safe harbor we can rent, we’re changing the name of the ship,” Orin growled, “We hadn’t had the ceremony yet.”  
  
“Aren’t there still Wretched hanging around Sunsail Anchourage?” Kit asked.

“Only a few, they regularly collect…” he frowned and sighed, “It’s still better to deal with them than crazed murlocs.”  
  
“They may not be crazed,” Leona supplied, “And Mmmgrrl may be able to negotiate, so we may not have any issues.”

He started to say something, then noted she had already drawn her swords. Good, she wasn’t as naive as the Captain was.

Or at least she was willing to prepare for the worst.

“Look, it’s not a problem. And this way we can make the money we put in Sunsoul Adventures work for us. No rent means no rent, right?”

“We’ll have to hire people to upkeep the dock… which we have to build… and upkeep any buildings… which we have to build,” Orin decided it was better for his growing migraine to leave the rest of the cost calculating for much later.   
  
Preferably when he had someone to take the frustrations out on.  
  
Nothing more was said as they finished making their way to the coast and the murloc villages dotting the area Kit had bought for the company.

“Okay Mmmgrrl!” Kit grinned, “We’ll wait right here!” she gestured to the tree line, “Need any help, just yell, alright?”

He saluted and garbled happily in his language before running off.

Kit poked Leona, “Alright, since Orin’s being grouchy, you name the ship,” she whispered.  
  
“Is now really the time?”   
  
“We gotta wait a bit…” her eyes widened as Mmmgrrl came running back, spears flying after him and she grabbed her polearm from it’s sling on her back, “Maybe not.”  
  
Orin bit back a sharp retort as he jumped out from the trees, barking a command for Kit and Leona to stay back as he hefted Mmmgrrl up and threw him at the girls, then slammed down his sword.

“Oh cool!” Kit grinned as Leona wrinkled her nose, “Kinda sucks that we had to fight them though… hey! Does this mean we get Murloc Zombies now?”  
  
Orin stared at her from where he stood in the center of the collapsed bodies, “The HELL do you want those for?!?”  
  
“It’s kinda cool?”  
  
Leona bit her lower lip to keep from laughing and busied herself with checking Mmmgrrl for injuries as Orin counted to ten, very, very slowly.  
  
“But hey, we don’t have to worry about them now…” Kit walked over to Orin and nudged one with her foot, “I hate that we had to kill…”

“Captain, not everyone likes us. And I think there were reasons Mmmgrrl was abandoned and alone in Northrend.”  
  
“Still sucks,” she took a deep breath, “Okay, Leona’s naming the ship. When can we start building and driving you crazy with accounting?”  
  
He scanned the coastline, “Tomorrow at the earliest. But give me a week to ensure that the ones we hire for this job will be competent. We need to finish in a couple of weeks at the latest. Especially if you want to stop living off of the allowance the General gives you.”  
  
“Guess I better get started on that advertisement so we get a job lined up,” she grinned, “Help me give these guys a burial first. Bad enough we had to kill ‘em. Let’s not leave the bodies laying out here to rot.”  
  


* * *

Water was dripping somewhere in this dark cell, but Luceirin couldn’t make out where due to the echoes.  
  
She couldn’t even say how long she had been down here, there was no light, and all she could tell of what she was in was that a sort of cool stone.  
Why she knew at least. Or she could guess. There were several people and groups that could not stand her.

Hell, she doubted that the person she attempted to reach out to for help would come. Serene was very clear in the amount of pain and death that she would bring to the dark phoenix if they ever crossed again.  
  
 _“You could have stayed on Mother’s farm, you would have been safe there.”  
_  
She snorted at that thought, safe was not something she wanted. Rest, yes… and she did rest while she hid on Raine’s farm, but sanctuary was something she refused to take.  
  
Not while she had debts to pay at least.  
  
Still…  
  
Lucierin pulled at her braid and took out a dark feather glowing with a faint purple light, looking around quietly as she stood.   
  
“Well. Fuck.”  
  
She frowned at the crest on the wall opposite her bars, “The ice lizard may not have been the best choice after all,” she groaned, “And when the  _hell_  did I piss off these guys?”  
  
She kicked the wall,  _damnit_ , it was too obvious, They saw that damn piece of paper,  _read_  the enchantments…   
  
Serene would see that and think trap. But it wasn’t from  _her_  (for once).

She hated being played. That damn thief made her out to be a fool when she betrayed Mira and burnt Zandrae’s house to save Vel… who as far as she could tell was only  _slightly_  inconvenienced by that woman’s attack. 

And now…  
  
“Damn  _lizards_ …” she growled, “That idiot better be smart enough to not come here.”   
  
Lucierin sat down and hugged her knees, “And they took all my explosives…” she rummaged around her vest and leggings, “And fuck. All my kni…” she reached down to her boot and smirked as she tapped the heel, “All but one of my knives… that’s something at least.”

A knife, her dark feather, the quill she had poked her finger to write with… she touched the floor… sand, about three feet of concrete on all sides, and… she stood and tapped the bars to her cell… true steel…

“Shit, this  _better_  be enough to work with…”  
  


* * *

Leona was practicing in the courtyard, this time against Kit and Orin, this was an evaluation of sorts that the death knight had insisted on before Leona could join Kit’s strange newest endeavor.

Serene sighed as she watched for a few moments, “At least it keeps them occupied,” she muttered, trying very, very hard to ignore the fact that both Kit and Leona had been pouring over maps and what they knew of Evirin.  
  
At least someone had sense, and she glanced at the death knight that had came from the garrison with Kit, Sunsoul Adventures was a legitimate business at least, the search would happen in the girls’ spare time.  
  
The mage adjusted her spectacles, now was not the time to be thinking on such things, and she clutched the message that had recently come, interrupting her breakfast with Aura.  
  
Vel was not the first one that she had given an enchanted paper to. When Luna had taught her to do such a thing, she first gave it to someone she thought a friend.  
  
She never thought she would see it again.   
  
But this morning a violet paper bird had nosedived into her muffin, and only one word was scrawled on it, in neat penmanship she knew very well.  
  
 _Help._  
  
“Going out Bat?” Leona asked suddenly, and she blinked, wondering when the small girl had came over to her, “You’re not usually dressed this early.”

“There’s some business I need to take care of,” Serene smiled gently, then turned, “Make sure that you’re home in time for dinner, you call Mira later today and let her know how things are.”  
  
She nodded, “Orin and Kit and I are going to go look at the ship, it’s coming to the harbor today, and there’s only a few things left to do until the ceremony next week,” she chewed her bottom lip, “Papa and Mama will be alright with me going, right?”  
  
Serene shrugged, “If not, you can help Aura and myself with research,” she said as she waved, “I’ll be back soonish. If for some reason I’m not back by tonight, Aura knows how to contact Mira, so you won’t miss them.”  
  
She walked out of the house and then went to the mailbox, leaving a package there to be mailed to Velerodra, then took a deep breath, picked up the folded bird and her quill. A small spell would tell her where it had flown from, and why that was sent instead of the mechanical nightingale that person was so proud of.

Her preparations set, she walked out into Silvermoon proper.  
  
 _Vel,  
I may be foolish, as it’s very likely a trap. If so, please use the attached rune to quickly locate me. Aura knows I am going, and he has his own method for tracking me, but I have instructed him to first take care of Leona, as Mira and the idiot are still out on the General’s business.  
  
I received word this morning from Lucierin. One word actually, “help.”  
  
As it is _rather _uncharacteristic of her to even_ say _such a word, my first and only instinct is still trap. However, in the remote chance that it isn’t, I feel that it is my duty to retrieve her, as she represents an important part of the General’s research and I rather not have that fall into other hands._

_There is no other reason than that. She and I stopped being friends when she took Mira to be tortured by those overzealous light monkeys._  
  
I am aware that she may be of use to you. Let me know if you want me to deliver her frozen egg to you when I am done with her.  
  
Serene.

* * *

 

“You can take the fire-proofing  _off_ , right?” Varotin asked as he watched Mira concentrate as pale flames jumped from her fingers to the trees surrounding their camp, “Though I guess if we mark these for some carpenters, that wouldn’t waste them. But winters are cold here.”

"I’m also making a bit of a barrier,” she said as she glanced over her shoulder at him, “After the rude awakening we had a few nights ago, I thought it best.”  
  
He grinned, “See, I knew if I got you out of that stuffy scary room, you’d enjoy yourself.”  
  
Mira sat down next to him and pulled her messenger bag to her, “I’d feel a tad better once we get out of hostile territory. Dwarves don’t seem to like us very much,” she took a large red notebook out, “Luckily, my barrier shouldn’t attract  _much_  attention, at least not to their mages and shamans. Now if a druid happened to be paying attention, they’d notice the trees’ natural energy acting a tad strange… something Raine showed me… but they’d more than likely, based on the style it’s done in, think it’s another druid attempting for some privacy.”

He whistled his approval and laid down next to her as she begun to go through the day’s observations and notes, her eyes occasionally rising to study the large chasm they were to somehow cross tomorrow.  
  
Hopefully her broom would be able to hold  _both_  of them.  
  
“I should grab some of those really pretty stones before we head on tomorrow, Lea would love them. Especially the ones that were a bunch of different colors,” Varotin said quietly and Mira smiled softly as she looked down at him.  
  
“I think some of the dwarves and she would get along well,” she chewed the inside of her cheek, “She likes listening to the forges in Silvermoon.”  
  
Mira glanced across the chasm again, “But… I’m glad that she’s with Kit right now. Tomorrow would be…  _difficult_  for her.”  
  
Leona knew where they were going, they had sat down and talked with her before they left, asked her if it was alright if they went alone this time.

“It’s nothing but bones there now,” Mira said quietly, “Will we be able to keep our promise?”  
  
A soft snore answered her and she glanced down, “My barrier isn’t  _that_  strong,” she sighed, then went back to her notebook, “Not that I was sleeping much…”

He wrapped his arms around her waist and she blushed as she smiled.  
  


* * *

 

_It wasn’t much. Not at all._  
  
But it was from Cero. And Kit trusted him more than anyone else. But she had to wait.  
  
For the first time in a long time, she had hope again.

The order came in that morning to Sunsoul Adventures.

Just one package. It wasn’t even to a port that far away. The woman that wanted it delivered kept saying it was important, it had to go immediately, be kept safe.

Kit didn’t think anything of it, she watched Orin complete the order and grinned, the first voyage of the  _Dragonfox_ , the first voyage since they did the missions for Jude in Draenor on the  _Trust_ , and a chance to get away from Eversong for a while.

Briefly she wondered if that was why Cero seemed strange when she said she had stationed the company there. He knew that she didn’t particularly like staying in one place.  
  
Leona waved as she went off, Orin had given her the important job of watching the radio and communications… both the ones for Wings and the ones he had made for the ship, and waiting on that news from Claud.  
  
Up until nightfall, it was a perfect day at sea.  
  
The clouds rolled in as the sun set, and the wind was roaring before the last bit of light vanished.  
  
“Everyone tie down!” Kit yelled as she grabbed a rope and wrapped it around her waist, “Orin, take the wheel! I’m going to drop the sails before we get ripped off the water!”  
  
It was sheer chaos, organized chaos, this was far from their first storm, and her crew, most of whom followed her from Judessa’s troops in Draenor. At her command, all reached for the ropes tied to the central mast, all were busy ensuring that the boat didn’t capsize.  
  
She climbed up the netting, taking her skinning knife out of it’s sheath and putting it in her teeth, heading towards the network of knots and ropes that kept the sails open during fair weather.

They were a bitch to take down during storms.

She slipped, paused and frowned as she checked her rope with one hand and held tightly to the netting with the other, then scaled the rest of the way to the pulleys.  
  
It took a few moments, but that part was done and she slipped her knife into it’s place on her belt as she reached her hand up to her communicator.

“Leona! Get a message to Daddy! We got caught in a big storm off the coast of the Highlands!” she yelled over the wind and rain, hoping that most of it got through as she glared through the clouds.  
  
“Captain! Get down!” Orin cried out and she nodded, moving to start back down when she heard the snap of wood.  
  
She wasn’t even sure how she fell, just that one moment she was on the netting, the next she was in freezing water that churned around her, hearing cries above her as she drifted further away from the ship.  
  
Taking a deep breath she dove, following the rope tied around her waist back to the ship, only to rise up in near panic when she found the frayed end.  
  
Quickly she looked around, undoing the safety measure that had failed before it weighed her down and strained to hear her ship and crew.  
  
 _There!_

She started to swim when something wrapped around her ankle and she was pulled down.


	27. Overboard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kit falls off her ship during a storm...

**Overboard**

Her lungs were screaming and the dim light that was able to shine through the clouds was getting smaller and smaller.  
  
Just when she thought she was about to explode, her head was yanked back and something harshly thrust in her nostrils and mouth, and suddenly she had air.

There was a pale light glowing far below her and she turned her head to see what was dragging her along by the ankle, paling when she saw the two swimming closer to the light, and further from the surface.  
  
 _Naga…_  her eyes widened,  _Then the rest of the crew…_

She started to struggle, to get away to find some way to her ship to warn the others to get away.

“Ssstay ssstill!” one with blue scales snapped and Kit yelped as she was hit with freezing cold, “Take the prisssoner to the box. Take her to the mine when ssshe learnsss obedience.”  
  
Kit couldn’t stick out her tongue, the contraption they stuffed in her mouth kept it in her mouth.

  
She frowned, this wasn’t the first time she was a slave, but at least in Azshara, there was someplace to run too. Now she barely had a bearing on where she was… much less where land was. The attempt at escape to get to the ship was a pretty desperate one… though luck was  _usually_  on her side.

She only hoped Orin commanded the ship onto safer waters. 

* * *

It wasn’t true.

It  _couldn’t_  be true.

Leona ran from the docks after Orin confirmed it, didn’t hear what he and Lyon talked about, she just hugged herself and cried.

Kit was just lost.

There was  _no way_  that she was…

She shook her head, refusing to even think it. Kit was lost. She got lost all the time.  _She always came back!_

Whispers were starting in the back of her mind, small tendrils of shadow and doubt that started to reach to choke out that bit of hope.

_**NO!** _

She growled, fighting back the tears, she wouldn’t give in to it. Kit never gave up and  _neither would she._

Leona hugged her knees more tightly, her mind racing. Judessa might know where the signal came from originally, she could start there.   
  
 _Papa and Uncle will both help. We can find her no problem!_

Because  _no way in hell_  was she accepting that Kit died at sea.  _No way_  was she accepting that Kit got thrown overboard and just drowned.

Evirin was still missing, Kit just went missing to go find him!

__**We’ll find her!  
  
**

* * *

Kit’s eyes shot open at their usual time, which was precisely three hours before dawn.  
  
The cold she had caught after her rescue from being held captive by those Naga was completely gone and she bounced up, taking great pains to be quiet and not wake up the rogue that “rescued” her.  
  
She stopped herself from giggling and instead grinned as she started to quietly look around Anderia’s hideout.

First things first, get a message to Cero and Judessa and Theravir. No reason to get her new friend in trouble, not yet at least.

After all, Anderia had  _promised_.  
  
 _Bingo!_

Kit smirked as she pulled out an empty bottle. She was in Northern Stranglethorn, the sea couldn’t be more than a few meters from her current location, no matter  _where_  the hideout was. A few more moments and she found some parchment.

_But how to be sure that Daddy would be the one to get it…_

She scrunched her nose in thought as she stealthily made her way outside and listened for the sound of the ocean.  
  
 _Blood!_

_Write the letter with my own blood! If there’s a search in the first place, they’ll get it! Course the real trick is making sure the rest of my blood stays inside… but I can keep from getting hurt._

Plan in place, Kit nodded to herself and took Luce’s feather out of her braid and then looked around on the beach for a sharp broken shell… Perfect!

Picking up a broken piece of clam shell she looked it over, then ripped the fabric from her sleeve before slashing across her arm.

Kit winced, she knew it was going to hurt but  _geeze!_

Taking the feather, she stabbed herself in the wound, biting back a few choice imaginative curses and then took a piece of parchment she had nabbed from Anderia’s place and started to write.

_Daddy!_

_I promise that I didn’t mean to get myself kidnapped again (oh, the ransom’s prolly something like 100 million or something. She thinks I’m a princess because of how weird my magic is or something), but Anderia DID rescue me from the Naga and stuff._

_But I figured that since I AM kidnapped, I might as well use it to my advantage and go looking for Evie the hard way. I know you said that Claud was going to have news, but I’m not going to be able to get there (which is totally not fair by the way. It was supposed to be a quick and easy delivery!), but she seems pretty insistent that she keep me until she decides what to do.  So I made a deal that I would get her a WHOLE LOT OF TREASURE if she helps me find Evie and she somehow agreed!_

_I think I’m getting smarter!_

_Tell Leona that I’m okay, I know she’s prolly worried sick since the Dragonfox looked like a wreck when I got thrown OFF of it and I know Orin’s a right grump when things go south._

_Oh! And tell the Uncles that it ISN’T MY FAULT I got kidnapped again, and tell Mama Farflight I’ll be back as soon as I can, and WITH EVIE!_

_I figured I’d check some of the more Twilightly places, since she wouldn’t let me before._

_Love!  
Kit_

Grinning as she looked it over, she nodded to herself, then used the scraps of sleeve to bind the long ragged scratch before sticking the feather back in her braid and standing up.

Kit rolled it up, and picked up one of the bottles, “And for the clincher,” she said as she reached up and took Tara’s feather from her braid, “Course this might work better if I knew  _how_  Blood Magic worked…” she stabbed her thumb with the tip and stuck it inside, rubbing it on the inside of the glass.

“Okay… now to seal it…” she stuck a cork in the bottle, “And…” she threw it as hard as she could into the ocean, “That’s that.”

She stuck the golden feather back into her braid and sucked on the stab mark on her thumb, “Welp. Since I’m up. Better get breakfast.”  
  


* * *

It had been a long week, and Serene was happy to be home and not involved with anything that would cause her headaches and trouble.

That fight with Lucierin was nearly lost… if she hadn’t…  
  
She sighed, at least things at home should be well taken care of.

Or so she  _thought_.

The scribe blinked as she opened the door. The place was completely trashed, it appeared as though Leona had been practicing on the furniture.

_But that can’t be right, she’s rather good about keeping the sword play inside the practice arena…  
_  
A blast of arcane blew past her and she adjusted her glasses.  
  
 _…if Judessa ever hears of this…_

She walked through the destruction to the center of the kitchen, and set a kettle on the stove before getting out the stuff to make herself some tea and a sandwich.  
  
 _What happened to get them both riled up? Aura adores Lea, so he didn’t attack her, but…_

An hour passed, and she sighed wearily and stood, walking out into the midst of the destruction.

_If I don’t do something now, they’ll start on Mira’s laboratory._  
  
“Enough,” she said quietly, pushing out a wave of arcane to get their attentions. Other than that she ignored the two, who were both staring at her.

Leona was growling, she supposed it best to calm the child down first, and she walked to the bits of the bookshelf that was still standing and picked up a book.  
  
It wouldn’t matter which one, she had Mole’s favorites memorized, but she had to go through the motions of the night time ritual.  
  
“Chapter Five,” she said as she sat on the rubble that was once her favorite chair,  _“The Lost Night had taken place centuries ago, yet Ascalon still found it hard to trust in Selene’s promise…”_

It took some time, but Leona finally sat across from her, her cheeks flushed as her ears twitched forward to listen.  
  
“…I’m sorry…” the girl finally said, “Kit was… I started to practice and…” her blush deepened, “I lost control…”  
  
“I see,” Serene adjusted her glasses and closed the book, “And your excuse Aura?”  
  
“…you weren’t here and I didn’t know what to do…” came the sheepish response as he hugged his knees, “And it did look fun.”

Serene sighed wearily, “I’m going out. I need to give something back to someone,” she kicked the bag that Lucierin’s egg was in, “When I get back, this place better be clean. Then we’ll talk about what to do with Kit.”

“Then… we’ll go and find her?” Leona said happily, “I’ll tell Uncle Lyon!”

Serene’s eye twitched, “What do you mean?”  
  
A few minutes later she stood, nearly exhausted by the last few minutes of exchange and fought back the urge to destroy the house herself. “Leona. Go to bed. Aura, contact Mira and ensure that she is already on the way back. I’ll be back soon.”  
  
 _Dear gods, Judessa and Lucierin were right! All the idiots in one place! And just because the Queen Idiot fell off her ship!_  
  
Just so long as the house is still standing. And Leona doesn’t tell Lyon about her temper tantrum when she visits tomorrow, we MIGHT hear the end of it sometime.  
  
…just so long as neither of them took that tantrum into Mira’s laboratory…  
  
  


* * *

 

__

“Why don’t I hate it when you say my name?”   
  
It was said in a small whisper as she hugged her knees and looked out at the rocks and gems surrounding their very small secure camp. Anderia and the dragonhawk were sleeping rather peacefully, but this was one of the nights that Kit couldn’t sleep.  
  
Phase seventy-five of her plan to search for Evie was done, they were in Deepholm.   
  
But seemingly not any closer to finding him than she was back when she was in Silvermoon. At the very least, Kit was getting some good time to think.  
  
The rogue was of the opinion that Kit should find someone else to love. Nearly  _everyone_  seemed to have given up on Evirin. After all, it had been a  _year_  since he first disappeared with no word.  
  
Kit stared at the dark earth plane and smiled sadly, “I saw the camp,” she whispered, “And I know you were there cause there was a pile of abandoned pillows right nearby and only one person I know piles ‘em like  _that_ ,” she took a deep breath and wiped her cheeks, “She really did stay with you the whole time huh? Even with all that mess you guys have to deal with.”  
  
Her eyes closed and she leaned her forehead on her knees.  
  
“I’m not giving up Ass, cause no one else can call my name like you. So help me out here, where are you?”  
  
She wasn’t listening for an answer, it was just her daily habit… nearly a moot point now since her communicator was missing.  
  
If he wasn’t here… where  _else_  was there to look?  
  
 _ **“Since when do you give up so easily Brat?”**_

She looked up with a start, half-expecting him to be next to her, and slowly her face broke into it’s crooked smile, “Yeah… it’d make no sense for me to suddenly show back up with nothing to show for it. I’ll find you.”  
  
It wasn’t like she was going to be allowed to return to the others anytime soon anyways, technically Anderia  _was_  still holding her for ransom.

She yawned and closed her eyes again, curling into a ball, “Course when I do find ya, you’re gonna  _pay_  for making me have to look in the  _first place_  Ass.”  
  


* * *

 

Mira was not worried over the destroyed house, the fact that Kit had fallen off a boat and Leona was attempting to man a rescue attempt, or the fact that Serene had taken to kicking a phoenix egg.  
  
After all, those were problems easily fixed. Varotin and Aura were cleaning and repairing the home, Lyon was helping with Leona’s physical search, and as soon as she received an audience with Cero, Mira would look with Kit’s blood, and Serene could handle whatever task Velerodra gave her.  
  
No she was worried over something else entirely, and the primary reason she sent a message to Cero through the verdant sphere. Finding Kit was important, yes… but  _this_ …  
  
She summoned a small flame and frowned at it.  
  
Her flames responded to her emotions, they’ve been every color under the spectrum.

_Except_  for this particular shade of green, one that was in the eyes of every Sin'dorei, one that she knew she was tainted with, but  _never_  to this extent… at least not in the doll that Cero had created.  
  
Mira closed her eyes and banished the flame.  
  
That was just the first of it.  _Far_  worse was coming, and she knew that her time was up. The whispers  _promised_  as much.  
  
“There’s still time to come back with me Sister,” a childish voice sang in her mind.  
  
“No Levi,” she said quietly, frowning at the giggle as her brother left her alone… for now at least.  
  
There was a reason she returned earlier than intended from Cero’s mission, and she hoped that he responded to her cry for help soon.  
  
Because unless Varotin suddenly became a very power warlock… something she seriously doubted he’d be capable of, she wouldn’t be able to control herself when the full force of the whispers of her former Master hit.  
  
“…I need a plan…” she slumped down, covering her ears, “And I’m no good at planning…”

__


	28. Mira's Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In preparing for the incoming invasion, Mira happens across a rather... interesting plan... before she and Varotin leave for Broken Shore.

**Mira's Plan**

She sighed and lifted up her hair near her forehead, frowning at the very small, barely visible nubs there. “Maybe I should start wearing hats…” Mira muttered as behind her Flare snickered, going back to lick his paw and appear innocent when she whirled to glare at him.  
  
**_“It was bound to happen eventually. It’s not like that body was from a source that took care of it. Suicide if I remember correctly?”_**  
  
“And how would you know? That happened long before Nami and Levi conspired to send you here,” Mira snapped as she turned back to her inspection of herself, “If anything, the Legion coming closer and falling into that scuffle in the Blasted Lands had  _more_  to do with this than anything else.”

**_“What will the idiot think when your tail grows back?”  
_**  
She paled at the tease and turned her body halfway to examine her back in the mirrors, breathing a sigh of relief when the only issues there were a few nasty scars…  
  
Mira gulped, reaching to touch her shoulder-blades, “Hats and loose robes,” she muttered again, then sighed wearily, “Fireproof loose robes. And gloves. And…” she looked back at Flare and slumped down, “And I need to talk to Cero  
  
**_“Oh yes, because asking him to make you a doll again is going to solve this problem,”_**  he snorted,  ** _“You want to lose all your memories again? It’ll only make it easier for them to take you back where you came from.”  
_**  
“I wasn’t going to ask for  _that_ , but I need to reforge my contract. If they find out that I’m unbound… relatively speaking… they’ll push their control…” her voice trailed off and she smiled, “I’m  _not_  unbound… it wouldn’t be an  _exact_  lie…”

The cat looked at her with horror-filled eyes,  **** _“No!”_

“It’s  _brilliant_. With a few extra power from Cero’s verdant spheres and a bit of glamorie,” Mira giggled, “And Levi wouldn’t tell on me… it’d be a game to him.”

**_“You’re going to trust that brat to keep quiet because of…?!?”_ **

She got up and threw a robe on herself, “Leona would play along too, so all I have to do is double-check the idea with Varo and then poke holes in it with Cero to ensure I’m not missing anything…” she left her room with the fiery cat on her heels.

**_“Can’t we talk about this?!? ANY PLAN WOULD BE BETTER!”_ **

“No, this will work. It has to work,” she smiled, “After all, we won’t be trying to get closer to them, and it’s just until Orah has his plan formed.”  
  
**_“Do you even remember what happened when you tested that serum?!? What he did with just a LITTLE of your flames?!? AND YOU WANT TO GIVE HIM CERO’S SPHERES TO DISGUISE HIM AS A WARLOCK!?!”_**

She bent down and scratched behind Flare’s ears, “You worry too much. It’ll be fine. Besides, Varotin will look rather good in some robes of power.”

****_“MIRA! CAN WE PLEASE TALK ABOUT THIS?!?”_  
  


* * *

“Varotin…” Mira frowned as she turned to him, “This is a bad idea.”  
  
“You promised!” he crossed his arms, “Besides, didn’t you take on a whole tribe of trolls just to get some magic robes a few weeks ago?”

She chewed the inside of her cheek, “You do realize it was a very small tribe. And I had the element of surprise… that and they were pretty weak, still trying for the Zandalari…” she blinked, “And that has nothing to do with this! Those are Legion-bound Ered'ruin… most of whom are  _far more powerful_  than I was when I  _wasn’t_  in a doll! And…” she looked back down into the ravine, “They’ve got a voi… make that three void terrors. And a few dozen infernals.”

“So we’ll have fun fighting. You wanted to more stuff for your plan,” he kissed her cheek, “It’ll be easy, we don’t have to take them all on. Just most of them. Besides, all we have to do,” he picked up the binoculars and grinned, “There. That one human there. We just need to get him, right?”

Mira sighed, “I’m beginning to think that my plan wasn’t the brightest…”  
  
“It’s a great plan! You’re just getting down because you’re not used to fighting a lot at once,” he put down the binoculars and pulled her arm, “And he’s getting ready to leave, so let’s get down to the south entrance to meet him. This is going to be great!”

She slowly got up, “I need to remember to set up wills the next time we go on an outing like this.”

“Come on, come on. You said you needed the stuff from warlocks for your plan anyways!”  


* * *

Serene tilted her head at the letter they had received in the mail, “It’s from the hall of records,” she smiled as she glanced at Leona, “It’s addressed to Varotin, but…”

The girl started to shake her head, then paused, and quickly swept the bandages from her good eye, “Open it! It may be that thing that Mama told me was coming!”  
  
Serene giggled, then adjusted her glasses and broke the seal on the envelope, “This is interesting…” she started, a slight tease in her voice, “To Varotin Oathblood, in response to your request to adopt the child that the General Cero Sunsoul placed in your care, we are sending this paperwork for you to sign and complete. In light of the fact that no birth certificate exists for this child, we have provided one for you to fill out, we assume that given her age, the lack of information on her is a cause of the documents lost in the months following the fall of Silvermoon. We do request that you fill out all the forms provided and have them audited no later than Tuesday the Ninth of the Eighth Month. We have also included the marriage certificate requested, though we remind you that all forms must have witnesses…”

“It’s everything she sent for,” Leona said with awe, “Wait, I didn’t know Papa had a surname.”

“Since he forgot his, when I sent the request in, I filled it out,” Serene sighed, and Leona giggled, “I suppose we can fix yours to match, since it’s not the General adopting you.”

“But Sunsoul was what Kit…” the small girl chewed the inside of her cheek, “And that’ll really make Jude and Fever mad at me. Not to mention that Evie may not ever speak to me again.”  
  
“They’ve  _been_ mad at you. Besides, you can pick out your middle name,” Serene smirked, “I’ll fill out the paperwork and make the idiots sign when they get home.”

“…I can pick anything for my middle name?”  
  
“Absolutely, it’s all yours,” Serene adjusted her glasses, “I suppose I better put a little more pomp into the marriage certificate, Mira will be disappointed to find it’s not a ceremony…”

“We can throw her and Papa a party when they get back! I can cook dinner and you can make a cake, and…” Leona ran to the hallway, “Let me send a message to the General, he can marry them, so it’s more official and then…” she paused, “Wait! You said that it’s an adoption certificate, but we have to fill out the birth certificate too… who are we putting as my parents on that?”

Serene paused, chewing the inside of her cheek, “I… have a name or two just for a thing. I can provide death certificates, so they won’t be challenged. It asked for those as well… we have to fill out the reasons of adoption after all, and back it up to you being sent to the General’s care, even if it was through Kit.”

Leona ran off and Serene sighed, glancing at the pile of documents that were sealed into the envelope, an impressive use of enchanting that she felt was a tad wasted.

It cut down on the postage rates she supposed.

“I can’t tell her the truth,” she said quietly, “Those names…” she shook her head, “Sometimes I’m too good at investigating records.”

After all, the letters and journal from the old black dragon that Leona had befriended in Blade’s Edge spelled everything out for Serene, and both of the people mentioned in those had aliases in Silvermoon for whatever purpose… the paperwork and documentation all properly done.

_It may not be true… there’s no telling where her egg came from after all. It’s just a set of names I happened to find that work for the circumstances involved…_

“Well, I knew this was going to happen when I sent in the request,” Serene sighed, “Now to finish the job.”  


* * *

Lucierin was extremely smug with herself as a far less smug Serene walked beside her with a frown on her face as they searched for Vel. They made an odd pair, Luce was dressed in dark leathers stained with oil, her goggles pushed over her head to keep the stray hairs of her loose braid from her face. Serene was dressed far more primly, not a stitch out of place, not even the quills sticking in her neat bun looking anything less than perfect.

Her spectacles were slipping off her nose, but Lucierin never knew her to have glasses that were actually fitted.

“And you have all the paperwork?” the rogue prompted the mage, “So if she decides…”

“Yes,” the mage practically growled, “You do realize this is taking candy from a baby?”

“Oh relax, what was Leona going to do with her third anyways? Besides, she seemed happy to make her share make money for Kit’s shares… and the bit of work we did to ensure that it works far more efficiently under the new share owner…” Lucierin grinned, this was nearly a stroke of genius on her part, “That with the other suggestions we came up with should generate Vel quite a bit of revenue.”

Serene adjusted her glasses, “That’s if she approves, if I can get…”

Lucierin pinched her ear and she glared at the dark-haired rogue who nodded at Vel, and sighed, “You are enjoying yourself entirely too much for this.”

“I should be,” Luce grinned as she placed her hands behind her head, “None of this has to deal with Father and there’s no personal risk. Now come on, we have a report to make Ms Frost Bitch.”

“That’s Assistant Professor Frost Bitch to you,” Serene snapped as she stepped forward to talk to Vel, Lucierin snorting as she followed behind her, “I spent a great deal of time studying and taking the Reliquary tests for that title, thank you very much.”  


* * *

 

“Mira, this is easily the dumbest idea you ever had,” Serene said as she crossed her arms and watched her teacher prepare for the Legion’s arrival.

Which for some reason, consisted mostly of disguising Varotin… the least arcanely inclined, allergic to fel,  _moron_  that Mira was bound to as a warlock.

Even Leona was helping with the display, the girl was now in her normal form as whelpling and hiding in a pocket near the legs of the robe as Mira finished tailoring it on the mannequin.  
  
“I just bite him if he’s going to give himself away, but not too hard, right?” she said in draconic, “And… he’s got to mutter to himself,” her snout scrunched in thought, “And it’ll help if he acts like the General some too…”

“That’s not hard,” Mira said as she marked the hem on the robes, “I think we’re almost ready for a practice run, and Cero will be able to give a bit of boost to Varo when we show him.”  
  
“Oh! He smells wrong Mama, they’ll be able to tell right away!” Leona pulled at one of her wings, “We have to get something to fix that!”  
  
“Well, he’s allergic to the stuff, I’m amazed he can stay in Silvermoon as long as he does,” Serene pulled out some notes, “You’ll have to do something el…”

_**“VOLCANO!”** _

Everyone looked at Leona as she loudly squeaked that out and she waved her hands, “Mama smells like a volcano sometimes, so it has to be a good demony smell… no offense Mama… so what if we get Papa to roll around in some ashes or something?”  
  
Mira tapped her chin, “There are remnants of activity in Blackrock still, those dwarves and orcs never really cleaned up after themselves… And most demons can’t tell the difference in scents,” she glanced at Leona, “But we can’t go. It’s too dangerous to you.”

“But Mama, the voices have been real quiet, and and you and Papa will be with me! Besides,” the black whelpling climbed out of the pocket and fluttered up to land on the top of the mannequin, “If I hide all the time, then I won’t be able to fight them! And Papa and I never trained on that unstable of ground before, it’d be good practice.”

Serene adjusted her glasses as she frowned, but didn’t say anything and looked to Mira.  
  
“I’ve got to deliver Grandfather’s letter too, and Blackrock’s the only place I didn’t look for his son.”

Mira paled, wringing her hands, pacing back and forth, and Serene bit her tongue, that would be the argument that did it, and for once she hoped Varotin would have better sense.

No such luck, they were going to treat it like a damn  _picnic_.  
  
“The first sign that the voices are getting to you…” Mira started.  
  
“We’ll leave, I promise. Besides I’m tiny like this, you can just carry me out if worse comes to worse, and Papa can carry me if I’m in the girl form. But we can’t just slather him in fel gunk, he’d get  _really_  sick!”  
  
“Volcanic ash isn’t going to…” Serene sighed, “Of course, Mira’s white flame, he’d be fireproof.”

“You can’t take any stones from there,” Mira tapped her cheek, “None.”

“I don’t want any from volcanoes, those stones are really mean to the others. At least the ones  _there_  are. There are some nicer ones that are in cooler places,” Leona scrunched her snout again, “I promise Mama, I don’t want the voices to get me either. We’ll leave if anything too dangerous is still there.”

Serene glanced at Mira, who slowly nodded.

The problem was… would any of those idiots actually be able to tell when it got too dangerous.

_This was the dumbest plan ever!_   
  


* * *

 

Leona was on a beach… surrounded by death.  
  
She didn’t recognize the shore line or the people fighting on it, only that there were both Horde and Alliance standards in the midst of the fray and that they were fighting a common enemy.  
  
She stepped forward, recognizing some people now, Mira was fighting back to back with Varotin, both nearly overwhelmed. A bit aways from them, she saw Raine, healing soldiers as a battered huntsman shot arrows into the fray and Deylestria seemed to be concentrating on commanding something…

An explosion happened next to her and she looked to see Lorelei running up the beach, her sword drawn as she yelled something, a bit aways, Zandrae was commanding a group of knights, Tyan next to him as he prayed for protection.

Another explosion and then she saw the General, Theravir behind them, both using their blood magic to fight, and Luna near them, fighting without knowing why, crying something about lost faces…

The Val'kyr that followed Luna glanced in Leona’s direction.  
  
**_“Why are you here?”  
_**  
Leona woke up in darkness, only then realizing that the beach was too perfectly seen, and she reached to raise her bandages to look around her room with her good eye.  
  
Darkness still surrounded her.  
  
“No…” she touched beneath it, “Papa’s eye…”

It had stopped working and she swallowed back a sob, knowing that it was only a matter of time before it did in the first place.  
  
“She’s awake Master,” a voice said and she turned, getting up as she recognized Lyon’s voice, “Leona, come on, you have to be taken to them.”

She paused, the voice was strange, even if it was Lyon, and she tilted her head, “Where are we going Uncle?”

“They need you to return to them, Blacks always did take such good care of the Twilights, they want you to bring more eggs to them,” the voice came closer and she tensed up, “And then you can destroy the world and melt it back to the Void…”

She yelped as hands grabbed her, slid down and then rolled into him, putting all her weight into the attack and then got up and ran when she heard the cry of pain, running far away from the fake Lyon and the Voices that talked through him.

Tears were in her eyes as she found the door and opened it.

Leona was on a beach… surrounded by death.  
  
_She woke up screaming._  


* * *

  
Raine was in a fetal position for the time being, and barely able to breathe.

Mira placed the allergy medicine she had concocted for the priestess beside her and left her in the guest bedroom as she went downstairs to the main room, where Serene and Leona were waiting.  
  
“Taladren will be returning home with his mother,” she said quietly, “Leona, I want you to go to that farm as well.”  
  
“Mama, I can’t let everyone  _else_  fight,” the small redhead said, “I know I’m just a child, but…”

“We need you to protect the farm and your friend,” Serene said, and Leona blushed as she looked down at her feet.

Mira smiled sadly, “We  _know_  you can fight Lea. That’s why you’re going to defend that farm. If anything happens, we need a place to fall back to, and you should always set a good guard on your medical base. Besides, Haidee needs your help as well.”  
  
Serene was frowning as she wrote a large H on the map where Raine’s farm was, “We’re giving up on this place then?” she asked, glancing up at her teacher.  
  
“Until she can gain control of that allergy, the farm is far more vulnerable. You and I both have defenses on this home that none can get through, and you and Aura already sealed the portals to the Library.”  
  
“I can’t let them burn because of some greedy demons,” she stared at the map, “Where will they be attacking?”  
  
“Varotin and I will go against the ones in the Eastern Kingdoms, you and Aura handle Kalmidor. We meet here,” she pointed at one spot, “There’s a greater concentration there, that’s going to be the main force of the invasion.”  
  
Leona stared at the map, chewing the inside of her cheek, “Mama, that’s an ambush.”  
  
Mira nodded slowly, “The thought has crossed my mind as well. They’d have the upper hand there, even without the amount that they’re going to throw at us there.”

“No worries Mole,” Serene smiled at her, “The first part of avoiding a trap is to know it’s coming.”  
  
“What does the General say about your plan?” the small girl asked both her and her teacher.

Mira took a deep breath, “I have yet to take it to him or to Theravir. I’m using information stolen from the Legion.”

Leona clenched her fists, “Promise you’ll tell him before you just go,” she whispered, “And you  _have_  to come back!”

“By the end of the month, we’ll have our family anniversary at the farm,” Mira promised, though Serene frowned and adjusted her glasses, “It’ll be fine.”

“And if you don’t?”  
  
Mira frowned, “If… if we don’t…” she wrung her hands, “Then… it’ll be because we’re dead.”

“Or captured,” Serene’s frown deepened, “And if that happens, there’ll be nothing you can do Mole.”  
  
The three were silent for a moment, then Leona puffed out her cheeks and stomped out the room to go to the practice yard, presumably to have a last practice round with Varotin before they left this house for the next few months.  
  
Mira stared at the map, “We don’t have time to take this to Orah. Besides, I’m certain he’s already noticed…”  
  
Serene sighed, “We should have told her it’s already started.”  
  
Her teacher shook her head, “If we did that, she would have forced us to take her. No, having her stay with Raine is far better, she can still fight… and to protect those taking refuge there, but…” she took a deep breath, “I won’t let my former Masters kill my family. This  _ends_  Serene, there’s far too much at stake.”

****


End file.
